Puer Scriptor Gratia
by Thomas Holmes II
Summary: Nothing's more important than family; whether they be actually blood related or merely someone you love like family, they mean the world to you. Here, I will rediscover a little bunny who was an important part of my childhood, as will Sonic, Manic and Sonia find a long-lost member of their family. Please read and review.
1. Salvation and rememberance

Puer Scriptor Gratia

**Hey guys, Thomas Holmes here with his next story. This is my first proper sequel to my 'Beginnings' story. It involves my past and one of the few bright things in it. It involves Cream the Rabbit, who I mentioned when I told my life story to my friends. Well, this will tell you exactly how I knew her when I was a boy. So, without further ado, here we go.**

**By the way, thanks to Jerry Lannigan for helping me write this. And I own nothing except myself and the story.**

* * *

Date: July 30th

I was out for a stroll through Knothole by myself. People passing by waved at me and said greetings to me. I responded absent-mindedly. I was thinking about everything that had happened over the last month.

My Jedi training had become considerably better and while I wasn't as skilled as my friends were, I was still adept with the blade. Though my training came mainly from Masters Errol and Morain Blackthorn and Errol's Padawan Hurit, Sonic and Sally often gave me private lessons as well.

My two new friends Jeremy Lannigan and Katja Sashami-Fursona were two of the best friends I'd ever made, though so far, they hadn't held up as well as Beatrice had. Katja was always someone to go to if I had any religious issues; she was probably the most devout Christian here in Knothole and she was also very wise for a she-wolf of only 14, nearing 15. Even Sonic looked to her for advice sometimes. Jerry was a nice guy, but he tended to be quiet and amiable, preferring to sit in his room and read most of the time. He wasn't one to talk about his problems easily.

I passed by a bakery, and stopped to let the scent of baking bread grace my nose. It smelled absolutely wonderful, a call-back to the semi-normalcy of the orphanage. A lot of things about that place I wished I would forget, but that smell was not among them. It reminded me of the wonderful cooking of a young woman I'd known then; Vanilla Rabbit...

"Master Jedi, can I help you?"

I turned and saw a young rabbit girl with a tiny chef's hat and oven mitts peeking over the counter at me. She looked to be about six or seven years old. "Oh, I...uh..." I blushed with embarrassment; I really, _really_ hate it when I get put on the spot like that. "I guess," I said at last. "I've never actually been to this place before, oddly enough."

The kid giggled. "Well, a new customer, and a Jedi too! What would you like?"

"Umm...do you make blackberry scones?"

"Why yes, of course," the girl said. "Coming right up!"

I watched her prepare the scones for me. Again, I was reminded of Vanilla Rabbit; how much I missed her and her baby daughter; Cream.

The girl made two scones, and then placed them on a metal sheet and put it in the oven behind her. "So, what's your name, Master Jedi? You look familiar."

"Firstly, I'm no Master; I'm just a Padawan right now. But to answer your question, I'm Thomas. You may have seen me fighting alongside Sonic."

She snapped her finger. "I thought you looked familiar." A longing glint appeared in her green eyes. "What's it like, being with him?"

"Well...he's like my big brother, first of all. He's smart, brave, noble, and he'll protect any innocents he can from harm."

I noticed the rabbit girl's fur turn a shade of light pink.

"You seem quite infatuated by him," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"He's just so... handsome!" the girl said dreamily. Her voice seemed... familiar to me. I was reminded this time of a small hedgehog girl I'd known some time ago; her name was Amy Rose and though she had been a nice girl, her apparent craze for Sonic had been quite disturbing for me.

"So you're a big fan of his?" I said.

The girl's voice shifted from its familiar British accent to an accent I was completely foreign to: Japanese. "Hai, Thomas-san! Sonic-kun is the reason I came to America; I want to be a Freedom Fighter just like him!"

"Amy," I said, for I knew now who it was. "Aren't you a bit young and hyped to be a Freedom Fighter?"

The girl looked surprised. Then, she changed from a rabbit to a pink hedgehog of about 10, with green eyes, a small tuff of hair and wearing a green and white shirt, a yellow skirt and blue shoes. "How did you know it was me, Thomas?"

"You are the only Japanese person I've met, Amy. That, and there is the fact that you called Sonic 'Sonic-kun.'"

Amy sighed, dejected. "_Shimatta_, I can't do anything right. Kawakami would be ashamed of me." The oven beeped, and then Amy turned it off and took out the now golden brown scones. "Well, at least I know how to bake."

"I wasn't implying that you can't anything right," I said. "It's just that being a Freedom Fighter, not to mention a Jedi, is a big responsibility."

"You seem able to handle it okay," Amy pointed out, as she spread blackberry jam on the scones.

"Well, yeah, because I have the commitment and dedication required for it and I have a driving force. I understand why you love Sonic; we all do here in Knothole. But you just don't seem to have the necessary requirements; you seem too distracted by your craze for Sonic. I'm sorry; I really am."

Amy froze in mid-spread, and her knife went straight through the scone into the wooden counter. "Then what, Master Jedi, are you dedicated to?" she said quietly. She then met my eyes. "_Tell me_."

I don't know what I was thinking, but I am glad I said what I did. "It's not _what_ I'm dedicated to, but _who_."

Amy pulled her knife from the counter and wiped it on her cooking apron. "Who are you dedicated to, then? The Princess? Sonic? Their other friends?"

I smiled. "While they help enforce my dedication, they're not who I'm dedicated to: I am dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Saviour of the Earth."

Amy looked puzzled. "Never heard of him. Is he a friend of Sonic's?"

"Not exactly," I said. "Sonic serves Him; Jesus is the Son of God and He reigns from Heaven. He died to save us from our sins, Amy."

"What sin? I never murdered anyone, I never stole anything, and I've followed my ancestral traditions all my life!"

"Have you lied to anyone?" I asked, leaning on the counter.

"Yes, but who hasn't?"

"That's a sin, Amy."

"But I don't do it often! I try to be good, I really do!"

"Sin is sin, Amy. No amount of being good is going to get you into Heaven and good deeds do not really negate bad deeds, I'm afraid." It pained me to have to scare Amy, but judging by her behaviour, I had to let her know this; it was based on what Katja had told me about sin and forgiveness.

Amy looked frightened. "So what if I don't get to Heaven?" she asked shyly. "What happens then?"

"You are separated from God and sent to a place of eternal darkness and punishment." I pointed at the oven behind her. "Imagine being shut inside that thing at maximum heat for eternity."

"Why...why are you telling me this?" Amy looked as if she was gearing up for a seizure. "What can I do? Do I have to go there just because I lied?"

My heart clenched at this, but I took a deep breath; what I was going to say next would comfort Amy.

"You don't necessarily have to go there," I said gently. "The death of Jesus Christ has given us a way out of that place: His blood covers those who accept the sacrifice He made. That is what you need to do, Amy; accept His sacrifice; take it into our hearts. Ask Him for forgiveness and He shall cleanse us of all sin. Accept Him as your Messiah; your Saviour, Amy. That's all you need to do. It is the core of our faith."

"How do I do that?"

I smiled warmly as I walked up to her, folded her hands in mine and closed my eyes. "Here is a prayer I heard long ago, when Tails accepted Him: 'Dear Jesus, I acknowledge I am a sinner, a doomed soul in need of a Saviour. Please, have mercy on me, because I now accept You and the sacrifice You made for me all those years ago. In Your holy name I pray, Amen.'" I opened my eyes and looked at Amy. "Now you say it, but you have to mean it. Don't just parrot the words."

Amy repeated the prayer, and I could sense she meant every word behind it. When she opened her eyes, I could see small rivers of tears on her face and a trembling grin.

"Feel better now, Amy?" I asked.

"Oh, yes!" Amy said, flinging her arms around me. "Thank you, Thomas! I feel so much better now; thank you!"

"It was my pleasure, Amy," I said, hugging her tight. "So, may I have my scones before they go cold?"

"Just one more question, Thomas."

"Yes?"

Amy placed my hand over her heart. "Can you tell me what is causing this feeling?"

"That," I said, smiling, "is His Holy Spirit entering your heart. I would know; I've felt myself."

"It is... wonderful," Amy whispered. "It's... so wonderful, Thomas. Thank you."

"I know," I said, as I took the bags of scones. "I daresay, Amy; if you really do have the commitment required now that you're saved... you could be a Jedi, like me."

"Really?" said Amy. "What do I have to do to be accepted into the Jedi? I'll do it, whatever it takes!"

"You have to pledge yourself fully to protecting the innocent and putting the welfare of others above your own. You must promise to uphold everything we stand by. Do you think you can do that, Amy?"

"Oh, yes!" Amy said. "I can do it! I'll go and do it now!" And without further ado, she dashed off out of the door, leaving her apron behind.

I chuckled to myself as she ran off. My heart felt light, even airy, knowing that another soul had been won for Christ, and possibly about to be added to our Jedi ranks.

I headed to the nature reserve of Knothole and sat down on a bench to enjoy my scones. They were simply delicious; Amy was indeed excellent at cooking; just like Vanilla had been.

Once again, my thoughts turned to her and Cream and then, another thought sprang to mind. Over the last few nights, I'd been having weird and disturbing dreams.

They often began in a dark, compact stone room, which in itself was disconcerting because of my mild claustrophobia, but I could also hear the weeping of children all around. I would then back into the farthest corner of the room, and then a pair of translucent rabbits-a tall middle-aged woman and her small daughter-would appear through the floor, holding each other in terror.

_"What's gonna happen to us, mummy?"_ the child would say. _"I don't want to go with those bad men!"_

_"I know, sweetie,"_ her mother would reply, stroking he daughter's head. "_But as long as we're together, it'll be okay now; shh."_ But she knew of course that things were never okay in the hands of the Nazis.

Then, the scene would change to another room, in the middle of which was a glass tube.

The rabbits would be chained to the wall side by side, and a human with two SWAT Bots would enter the room. _"Now, is this the first roboticization you have witnessed, ladies?"_ the human would say.

Mother and daughter would nod silently.

The human would grin and snap his finger. _"Bots bring out the mule!"_

The SWAT Bots would leave the room for a moment, and then come back carrying an orange-coloured mare with blond hair and horrified green eyes. _"Unhand me, ya metal-plated creeps! Let me and my sister go!"_

The human would grin still more nastily. _"I'm afraid I can't do that, furball. Put her inside!"_

The mare would buck and kick with all her might, but she is still dragged into the Roboticizer and shut inside. She would stare pleadingly at the ceiling, tears in her eyes. _"Protect my lil' sis, J.C.,"_ she would whisper.

Then the machine would hum to life, a wicked crackling would be heard, and everything would fade to white.

**A/N: This is Applejack from My Little Pony, btw.**

That was all there was to it. So far, I hadn't told the others about it, thinking it might go away, but it hadn't. Maybe it was best to discuss with the others.

"Thomas?"

I started in shock and nearly dropped the scone that was halfway to my mouth. There was Sally, wearing her classic boots and vest; she only donned her jumpsuit during missions.

"Sally? What brings you here?"

The princess smiled softly. "I decided to come down to the nature preserve to unwind. We received a bootleg shipment of weapons and body armour from Colin last night, and Jerry and I have been distributing them to the unarmed in the village since midnight. Jerry told me to take a break, so here I am."

I nodded. "Good, good. So, I..." We made direct eye contact, which caused me to fumble.

"Something you want to tell me?" Sally sat down next to me and crossed her legs, one over the other.

"Oh, it's nothing."

Sally propped her chin on her fist and looked at me curiously. "What's wrong?"

"I... I..." I didn't know what to say; my cheeks were on fire. Sally always made me feel sheepish and shy, due to her beauty and soft voice.

Sally seemed to realize this. "If I'm making you feel nervous, Tommy, when I apologize. I always seem to have that effect on men."

"There's nothing wrong with that," I said. "You're such a beautiful young woman. It's just..." I sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you. Over the last few nights, I've been having dreams."

"Dreams? What kind of dreams?" Sally asked.

"Well...they're very vivid, almost like premonitions. The last one I had last night; apparently I was in the Roboticizer Lab."

Sally's eyes widened. "Go on."

"I keep seeing two rabbits; a middle-aged woman and her little daughter. They were prisoners of the Nazis. Last night, I saw them being forced to witness a mare being roboticized.

"Did you recognize anyone involved?"

I tapped my chin thoughtfully. "Only the woman; she looked a lot like Vanilla, the rabbit who took care of me when Uncle Norman couldn't handle it."

"You mentioned Vanilla when you told us your life story, didn't you?" Sally said. "Tell me, how exactly did you and your brother and sister get to know her?"

I stared at her. "I thought you'd never ask," I said. "I guess I should tell you. But it's a long story."

Sally merely settled on the bench. "I like long stories," she said softly, her tone immediately causing goose bumps to pop up on my body.

"Erm... okay," I said. "Well, it all started about 6 years ago, when I was five. I remember it well..."

* * *

6 years ago...

_I was sitting with Robert, Sophia and Beatrice in the orphanage playground._

_Thankfully, Roswell had run off and the police were on his trail, so all four of us could play in peace._

_Robert was doing push-ups on his fists at the time. "Father was strong," he repeated to himself with each push._

_Sophia was reading about Beethoven's music while trying to practice it with a keyboard. Occasionally, she would pause, ponder the notes for a few moments and try again._

_Beatrice and I were swinging back and forth on the swings, both of us trying to swing higher than the other._

_"This is the life, Tommy!" Beatrice said._

_"It sure is, Bea!" I said. I was enjoying myself, but I was also troubled. My uncle, Norman Smith, was finally making a living; he was now head of the orphanage and had a job in orphan affairs. However, it cut deeply into his time with us, which really upset him. I felt we needed some more company._

_Just then, I saw Uncle Norman himself walking towards us._

_"Hello, kids," he said wearily. "I know I haven't been taking care of you as well as I should, but I can't really abandon my job to keep this orphanage afloat."_

_Robert stopped in mid-push and looked up at Norman. "Doth mine ears deceive me?" he said, completely deadpan. "Uncle Norman, admitting a wrong? It cannot be!"_

_"Rob!" I said, stopping my swing. "Be nice!"_

_Uncle Norman gave Robert a stern look, and then began talking to the rest of us. "Anyway, I have good news: a co-worker of mine has volunteered to take care of you three."_

_"Really?" I said, getting off my swing. "That's very nice, Uncle. That's wonderful!"_

_"Indeed it is, Tommy," Sophia agreed. "Thanks, Uncle." Robert merely shrugged._

_Norman smiled. "It's my pleasure, Sophie," he said. "Shall I take you to meet her then?"_

_"Oh, of course," I said. "Can Beatrice come as well?"_

_"Of course she can come," said Norman. "Way I see it, she's practically family already."_

_Beatrice offered a shy smile. "Thank you, Mr Smith."_

_Beatrice might be no orphan herself, but I too saw her as family. She was my best friend after all_

_Uncle Norman led us inside to his office. He paused at the door. "Now, before we go in, you kids should know that this woman is pregnant, so you'll have to go easy on her; understand?"_

_"We will," Robert said. "Don't sweat it."_

_"Yes, sir," said Beatrice. "Easy as possible."_

_We went in, and sitting on a sofa across the room was the expecting mother. She was a tall, cream-colored rabbit with kind brown eyes and ears long enough to substitute for pigtails. She looked to be quite spent already._

_She was stroking her swelling belly very gently, but she looked up as we entered._

_"Hello there," she said, spreading her arms wide. "You must be the children Norman's told me about."_

_"Yes," I said, stepping forward. This woman was just beautiful and her swelling belly just made her cuter still. "I'm Thomas Holmes and this is my brother Robert and my sister Sophia."_

_"And I'm Beatrice Anderson," Beatrice said. "I'm a family friend."_

_Vanilla smiled warmly. "It's so wonderful to meet you all," she said. "I just know we're going to have a wonderful time together."_

_"Your baby has really grown," Robert noted, gesturing at her belly._

_Vanilla smiled gently. "Indeed she has. I'm actually due in two months to birth her. It's a girl."_

_"A girl? What's her name, Mrs Vanilla?" asked Sophia. "Or do you need help choosing one?"_

_"I'm going to name her 'Cream,'" Vanilla said._

_"Cream," I said thoughtfully. "That's a cute name. I love it."_

_Why 'Cream,' exactly?" Robert asked. "Someone else in the family has that name, or something?"_

_"Well, I think it's a cute name," Vanilla said. "And... it was my husband's wish to name our daughter that."_

_Robert nodded. "I see. What was her father's name, if you don't mind my asking?"_

_Vanilla closed her eyes. "He was someone very special to me... his name was..." She stopped. "I can't say... it's too painful for me."_

_So Vanilla was a widow... and her daughter, Cream, would never know him. That was awful. At least I'd had time to spend with both my parents before they'd died._

_Beatrice obviously felt the same way. "That's awful," she said. "I'm sorry, Mrs Vanilla."_

_A sharp gasp from Vanilla caused us to jump._

_Uncle Norman rushed to her side. "What's wrong?"_

_"She kicked again," Vanilla said in a strained voice. "I'm starting to think she's going to be into martial arts someday."_

_I approached carefully. "Can I... feel your belly?" I asked tentatively._

_Vanilla stared at me. Then, she smiled at me. "Oh, of course," she said. "Just... don't press too hard."_

_I reached out and gently placed my hand on her belly._

_Cream kicked again when my hand made contact with Vanilla's belly, but it was much less pronounced than before. In fact, it was more of a push._

_"Whoa," I said. "It's as if as she knows we're out here, even if she's not born yet."_

_Vanilla smiled, placing her hand on mine. "I know," she said. "She is my only sunshine; my precious sweetheart. She means so much to me now; I can't wait for the moment."_

_"It's so kind of you to take care of us, Mrs Vanilla" Sophia said. "We've only just met and already, I know Uncle Norman was right to choose you."_

_Uncle Norman smiled. "It was the least I could do for my sister's kids," he said._

_"Me too," Vanilla said. "I knew your parents well, children, and I fully intend to live to their memory."_

_I gave a wan smile. "I will say this, Vanilla; congratulations on your baby."_

_Vanilla smiled. With some difficulty, she heaved herself up off the sofa and stroked my cheek. "Well, are you just the cutest little kitty I've seen?" she said. "Your glasses are cute."_

_I blushed bright red. Only once had someone said my glasses were cute and that was Beatrice when we first met. "Thank you," I said, stroking Vanilla's belly again. "And I just know your baby's kinda be beautiful, like you."_

_Vanilla pulled me into a hug. "Oh, thank you, Tommy. I hope you'll be a good friend to her."_

_"I will," I said, blushing so deeply that my face was burning. Vanilla smelled wonderful; like flowers. It was wonderful._

_Robert and Sophia moved in to hug Vanilla as well. "We all will, Vanilla," Rob said._


	2. Child's birth

Child Birth

**A/N: Thanks again to Jerry for help.**

**Please note; the end of this chapter will have fluff.**

* * *

Present day:

"The weeks that followed were perhaps the best I'd had in a long time," I told Sally, as we sat on the bench in the nature preserve. "My siblings and I loved every moment we spent with Vanilla; she was like the mother we'd lacked since our parents were killed by Robotnik. She was so kind and sweet; gentle and loving. She always brought things to do whenever she visited; board games to play, puzzles to make, books to read and even gave my sister beautiful flowers. Sophie always loved her flowers.

"Of course, she couldn't do anything very active, due to her pregnancy, but we never minded that. Often, she had moments of stress due to the pregnancy, but they weren't anything serious and whenever she was unhappy, I offered to rub her belly, which she always loved and made her feel better."

"What happened after Cream was born?" Sally asked. "Did that change the dynamic in any way?"

"Well, yes," I said. "Vanilla had her own baby to look after as well as us. But I must say; the day Cream was born was a day I'll never forget."

"When was it?" Sally asked.

I smiled warmly. "It was my sixth birthday," I said. "It didn't seem like it would be much of a birthday at the time, but when Vanilla went into labour, that all changed..."

* * *

July 31st, 3400

_"Happy Birthday, Thomas!" everyone said to me at the dinner table._

_I grinned and violently blew out the six candles on the cake Vanilla had made for this occasion. Oddly enough, as soon as they went out, the candles relit themselves! I blew again, not noticing Robert's efforts to conceal a laugh. The candles went out again, and the flames popped back up. "Confound it, what's up with these candles?"_

_Rob broke out laughing. "Re-lighting candles," he guffawed. "Found 'em at a party gag store!"_

_Sophia was laughing as well. "Good one, Bobby!" she gasped. "It's hilarious!"_

_I rolled my eyes at my older brother, but even I couldn't hold back a grin. "Very funny, Bobby," I said, chuckling myself. "Well, is there any way of putting them out?"_

_Beatrice was giggling as well. "What?" I asked her._

_"It was my idea, those candles, Tommy," Beatrice said, barely able to speak properly because of her giggling. "This is your first birthday with me and I wanted to be memorable for you."_

_"Thanks, Bea. How do you put these things out, by the way?"_

_"Like this." Bea licked her thumb and index finger and closed them on a flame, extinguishing it._

_I mimicked her for the other five candles, and soon they were all extinguished. "Which store did you find these in?" I asked._

_"The Spencer's Gifts down the street," Rob said. "Why?"_

_"Expect a prank this Christmas."_

_Rob narrowed his mismatched eyes. "I'll be keeping an eye out, Tom," he said quietly. "You can't trick me so easily."_

_I chuckled. "We'll see, Rob; we'll see."_

_Vanilla was giggling. "You kids are so funny; you never cease to amuse me. Anyway, let's have that cake." She picked up the knife and began to cut it into the slices. Obviously, I got the first piece and it was quite big, as it was my birthday. I requested Rob, Sophie and Bea get big slices as well, just to be fair._

_As I sat eating my slice, listening to Rob joking around with Bea and Sophie, I gazed at Vanilla, who was passing a slice to Uncle Norman. She had been pregnant for about 6 months now. With Mobians, babies were born after 6 months of pregnancy, and it had been about 6 months for Vanilla. When would her baby girl come?_

_Then, as Vanilla was cutting her a slice of cake, she suddenly gasped, dropped the knife and clutched at her belly._

_"That hurt," Vanilla grunted._

_"She kicked again?" my uncle asked as he helped her to her feet._

_"No, this feels different..."_

_Norman's eyes widened. "Jiminy," he muttered. "Get in the car; we're going to the hospital, now!"_

_I dropped my piece of cake. Vanilla was in labour! Her baby was coming! It was as if my thoughts had triggered the labour._

_Rob and Sophie were wide-eyed as well and Bea was bewildered. However, all of us followed Norman as he helped Vanilla to the car._

_Beatrice wanted to come with us but there was no room in the car for her._

_"Your parents will be here soon!" Norman said, as he got in. "They'll bring to the hospital after us!"_

_"Okay," Beatrice said worriedly. "Be okay, Mrs Vanilla."_

_Vanilla didn't reply; she was panting and gasped loudly. Norman patted her forehead gently._

_"We'll see you there, Bea," I said, getting into the car with my brother and sister and closing the door._

_Norman set off immediately, driving as fast as the speed limit allowed. Vanilla was moaning loudly. The three of us gazed as each other anxiously._

_We arrived at the hospital within minutes and my Uncle helped Vanilla inside, the three of us right behind. I could barely hear what Norman was saying to the doctor, but soon they were hurrying Vanilla to the maternity ward to give birth._

_We wanted to follow, but Norman said "No; you kids stay out here. I'm sorry, but we can't let you in yet."_

_"But..." Sophie began, but Norman hurried in the ward without another word._

_Sophie, Rob, and I sat down in the waiting room, and we did just that: we waited. We also listened. Surprisingly, we didn't hear any screaming or moaning at all._

_"Either the delivery rooms are sound-proofed, or Vanilla has a higher threshold for pain than an SAS commando," Rob said to no one in particular._

_"Or both," Sophie added._

_I said nothing. I just hoped that both Cream and Vanilla were going to be okay._

_Just then, the door opened and Beatrice arrived._

_"Anything?" she asked simply._

_"Nothing," Sophie replied, as Bea's parents, Max and Julia Anderson arrived behind her._

_Bea sat down next to me and placed her hand on mine. "She'll be okay, Tommy," she said soothingly, stroking my cheek._

_I gazed at my best friend's warm green eyes, but said nothing; I just smiled, only slightly reassured and squeezed her hand in return._

_We waited once more. From what Rob and Sophie had told me, birthing took much longer than my teachers had often told me: a single baby could take hours, sometimes over a whole day, to be born. Another thing Sophie told me about birth is that sometimes the baby could get stuck halfway out, or in Rob's case have the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. I inwardly fretted and worried about that happening to Cream, but Bea could tell something was up._

_She said nothing, but simply scratched me behind my ear, which made my fur puff up._

_Sophie was now reading one of the old magazines the waiting room provided and Rob was looking over her shoulder in interest, much to her annoyance. Bea's dad was making himself and his wife a cup of tea using the drinks dispenser._

_I gazed at the clock; we had arrived at the hospital at 12:23 and it was now 2:05. How much longer would it be?_

_Tick tock tick tock tick tock_

_Time ticked on and though I tried not to worry, I just couldn't help it. Would Vanilla be a mother or lose her baby at childbirth? She'd already lost her husband shortly after her daughter had been conceived; losing her daughter would destroy her. Would Vanilla herself survive giving birth? Inwardly, I prayed to God that both Vanilla and her baby would be okay._

_Tick tock tick tock tick tock_

_Then, at last, when the clock showed 4:12, the door opened and my uncle appeared._

_He looked tired. "Hey, kids."_

_I jumped from my seat. "Is Vanilla okay? And Cream? Why were you in there, anyway? Did something happen?"_

_Uncle Norman chuckled and put a hand on my head. "They're okay, Thomas. I was just going to ask if you wanted to see them."_

_My heart suddenly seemed to swell in my chest. So Vanilla was okay, and so was her baby. All of a sudden, I remembered that it was my birthday; Cream shared her birthday with me. All of a sudden, I wanted to see them so much, it almost hurt. "Yes, uncle," I said. "I do want to see them, especially Cream... so much. I..."_

_"So do we, Uncle Norman," Sophie said simply._

_"And me, Mr Smith," Bea said._

_Uncle Norman smiled. "Well then, come on. Let's go see her."_

_"We'll wait here," Mr Anderson said. "You go and see Mrs Vanilla, sweetheart."_

_"Thanks, Daddy," Bea said._

_We followed Uncle Norman into the maternity ward and to room 5. Outside, he paused. "Just remember; Vanilla's just given birth, so be gentle with her. She needs to rest after her labour."_

_I nodded silently and my uncle pushed the door open. There was Vanilla, lying on the bed, breathing heavily and looking tired, but calm and relaxed. My eyes were immediately drawn to the bundle she held in her arms. Then, my ears pricked at the sound of… a baby cooing._

_"Vanilla, are you okay?" I asked faintly._

_Vanilla smiled at me from the bed. "Yes; tired and exhausted, but it was all worth it; all worth it. My little Cream is here at last."_

_"Can… can we see her?" Sophie asked. Vanilla smiled and pulled back a fold in the blanket covering her new-born daughter. My fur puffed up at the sight of the tiniest and cutest baby rabbit I'd ever seen. She had cream and brown fur, all fluffed up around her and she was breathing slowly._

_"She's… beautiful," I said, my voice shaking. "So cute…"_

_"She's so adorable!" Bea said._

_Vanilla sighed. "Oh, Abe, if only you were here…"_

_I took it 'Abe' was Vanilla's deceased husband. My curiosity was triggered, but out of respect for Vanilla, I held my tongue on that subject. It was too painful for her to talk about her husband._

_"Do you want to hold her?" Vanilla asked me, suddenly._

_I was taken aback. I'd never held a baby before and I could be quite clumsy and even clingy at times. What if I accidently crushed the baby Cream?_

_Bea placed her hands on my shoulders._

_"It will be okay, Tommy," she said quietly. "I'll help you."_

_"Erm, okay," I said, my cheeks glowing red. Bea merely giggled._

_"You're such a silly kitty," she said._

_I held out my hands and Vanilla gently handed her baby daughter over to me. Bea helped to position my hands so that one was under Cream's head and the other was used to support her tiny body. And so, there sat Cream in my arms. She blinked up at me with cinnamon-brown eyes._

_"She's so tiny," I said quietly, gently rocking Cream in my arms, as Sophie stroked Cream's cheek._

_"Well," Rob said with a chuckle, "you were tiny as well, Tommy. Dad could almost fit you in the palm of one hand when you were born."_

_I looked down at Cream and I must tell you now that no feelings I've ever felt are like the beauty and grace of a new-born baby. I'd been told about how babies make people happy and warm-hearted, but I'd never even imagined that feeling until now. My heart was swelling with warmness and I was holding Cream close to me, though not too tightly, obviously. In response, Cream rested her head in my azure chest fur._

_"Tommy?" Bea said. "Do you realize that you're purring?"_

_She was right; I was purring! Cream was apparently enjoying the sound as she seemed to lean closer to me. I was amazed. I hadn't purred since I myself was a baby._

_I stroked Cream's cheek gently and in response, she wriggled one of her tiny hands out from her blanket and wrapped it around my index finger. Her grip was strong for a new-born, but I accepted it._

_"I'm Thomas," I whispered to her. "Happy birthday, Cream. You and I share a birthday now and you are the greatest gift I could ever have. I just know that we're gonna be like brother and sister."_

_Cream made small gurgling noises. Then she reached up and grabbed one of my whiskers, gently pulling at it. I smiled and let her play with it, while Bea and Sophie gently tickled her again_

_"Oh Vanilla," I said. "You are so blessed by this. You cannot imagine how thankful you should be to God_

_Vanilla was smiling tearfully. "I am thankful; to God and to you, for being here," she said._

_"Thank you, Vanilla, for the best birthday I've had in a long time," I replied, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to her. "You have made me so happy with your baby daughter here; I cannot describe my gratitude to you. If only my parents were here…"_

_Vanilla merely smiled. "They were the best couple I'd ever met," she said, taking her daughter back. "And I can see them both clearly in you. They would be very proud." She kissed me on the forehead, before hugging me and her daughter. There were 'awws' from Sophie and Bea and Uncle Norman and Rob were smiling warmly._

_"You are the sweetest feline ever," Vanilla said._

_"And you will be the best mother a girl could ask for," I replied. "I just know it."_

* * *

**I know; sweet and fluffy, isn't it? If it's not perfect, I apologize.**

**Anyway, see ya next time.**

**With all due respect**

**Thomas Holmes**


	3. Reminisence of a baby bunny

Reminiscence

* * *

"I suppose," Sally said, reclining next to me on the bench, "that Vanilla's visits were even better now that Cream was born, right?"

I didn't answer; I was too lost in memories of Cream; she was such a cute little bunny. Sally stared at me.

"Mobius to Thomas," she said, clicking her fingers next to my ear.

I started. "Oh, sorry. Yes, they were just amazing and wonderful. There are more occasions than I remember, but I can recall about a few instances that I remember best, like once when..."

Flashback, October 19th 3400

_Cream was sitting on my lap and I was tickling her belly._

_Cream giggled, her grin wider than Robert's grin when he sees the RAF doing air patrols. I grinned back, and continued tickling._

_Sophie was with me as well, and she was making odd faces to further entertain Cream. Her best face was her so-called "derp face", where she would smile and somehow make her eyes point in completely different directions._

_Her faces were so funny that even I was chuckling at them. Cream laughed and clapped her tiny hands with joy._

_"Aww, oo wike my funny faces, don't you?" Sophie cooed at her. Cream grabbed a whisker on her face and gently tugged at it._

_Sophie slightly winced, and she gently moved Cream's hand away. "Now, now, no whisker pulling," she playfully scolded._

_Cream turned her attention to me. "Omas!" she gurgled._

_I chuckled. "I think she's trying to say my name," I said. "Alright, try to repeat this, Cream: Thomas."_

_"Gab-gus," Cream gurgled._

_"No, no, Thom-mas," I said. Cream merely gurgled again. I grinned widely; she was just too cute._

"_Here, cutie" Sophie said, handing Cream one of his soft toys; a toy lion. Cream took it and began to chew on it with her gums. As always, my fur fluffed with delight at just how cute little Cream was._

_Deciding to amuse Cream even more, I leaned down and blew a raspberry on her belly. Cream squealed with delight and Sophie giggled._

_"Aww, oo's a cute wittle baby?" I asked Cream. "Huh, oo's a cute wittle baby?" I blew another raspberry and Cream laughed again. Then there was another noise like a raspberry and I thought I felt a vibration from beneath Cream._

_"Say, how did you do that, Tom?" Sophie asked._

_"I didn't."_

_Sophie gave a sniff, and then pinched her nose. "Eww, what's that smell?"_

_I smelt it too. "Looks like someone made a stinky," I said, leaning away from Cream. "Come on, you little rascal! Let's find your mother."_

Present day:

Sally chuckled. "I suppose that was the one downside of playing with Cream; changing her diapers."

"Yeah," I said. "But it actually wasn't all bad. I soon learned how to change her myself, even if it was disgusting."

"What else can you tell me?"

"There was a time when I actually managed to feed her bottle by myself," I said. "It was actually quite amazing, I assure you."

Flashback, November 25th 3400

_Cream was crying again. Her cries were quite painful on the ears; that's for sure._

_I folded my ears against my head in an attempt to muffle some of the sound, and then I looked at Cream. "I'm guessing you're hungry, since I just changed you." I went into Vanilla's living room. "Hey Sophie, do you know where the formula is?"_

_Cream's formula was a special soya product; as with all babies, her bones were weak and brittle and her mother wanted her to grow big and strong._

_My sister sat up from her previously flat position on the couch and shrugged. "I'm not sure. Want me to help you check?"_

_"Sure," I said. "I can never remember where it is."_

_Vanilla then appeared in the doorway. "My baby is crying again, I hear. Is she hungry?"_

_"Yes," Sophie said. "Where's her formula?"_

_"I have some right here," Vanilla said, holding up a bottle of milky formula. "It always helps to keep a bottle handy; you wouldn't believe how hungry my baby girl is."_

_"Want me to feed her, or can you handle it yourself?" I asked. _

_Vanilla smiled. "I'll show you how to feed her. Come with me." She went into Cream's room and I followed._

_Vanilla handed me the bottle and picked up her daughter from her crib, hoping to calm her down first. "Shh, quiet," she whispered. "Momma's here; it's okay, sweetheart." She wrapped Cream in her blanket and handed her to me. "Nestle her in the crook of your arm and then hold the bottle to her lips."_

_I did as Vanilla had said; I put the bottle to Cream's mouth. She took it in her lips and began to drink from it quietly. It was amazing; no other word for it. She never ceased to amaze me; Cream the Rabbit; so tiny, but so adorable._

_As soon as Cream had drunk the whole bottle, she looked much happier, but still looked uncomfortable._

"_Now what's up with her?" Sophie asked._

"_I think she needs a burp," Vanilla said. "Want to do for her, Sophie?"_

"_Pleasure." Sophie took Cream, placed her over one shoulder and patted her gently on the back. After a few pats, Cream gave a small, cute little burp and then giggled delightedly. Sophie, smiling, tickled Cream under the chin. "Good girl!" she cooed. "I learned how to burp from doing you," she added with a wink at me. I chuckled, shaking my head amusedly._

"What about Robert?" Sally asked. "Didn't he ever play with Cream?"

"He wanted to, but his football team needed him, and he didn't have the time. On the few occasions he did manage to join us, he never ceased to amuse Cream. Like, there was one time when…"

_Cream was sitting on her mother's lap and Robert, who was kneeling in front of her, was pulling all kinds of funny faces, sticking out his tongue, pulling his ears and going cross-eyed. Cream was clapping her tiny hands and squealing with delight. Robert seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself as well, as he continued to make all kinds of stupid noises_

_Vanilla smiled down at her baby girl, but she also looked a little cautious. "Careful now, Rob," she said. "If Cream keeps up like this, she's going to wet herself and maybe even do a poop."_

_I was sitting on the sofa with Beatrice and Sophie beside me. Bea was giggling at Robert's goofiness._

"_Oh, your brother is so funny, Tommy," she said, chortling as Rob started doing arm farts. "If he wasn't a football player, he'd be a great comedian!"_

"_I know," I said, chuckling._

"_Still," Sophie said, "he's too goofy for his own good, if you ask me."_

"_Oh, lighten up, sis!" Rob said midway through pulling his tongue._

_But eventually, Vanilla's concerns turned out to be right; Cream was overcome with joy, with the result that she ended up wetting her nappy. Cream began to cry softly. Robert looked embarrassed._

"_Sorry," he said._

"_I warned you this would happen," Vanilla said. "Well, since you're the one who made her go wee-wee, you get to change her!"_

_Rob looked shocked. "I can't change her; I don't know how! Besides, it's gross! And it smells!"_

"_Well, tough!" Sophie said. "It's time you learned!"_

"_I'll show you how," Vanilla said. She walked towards the kitchen; Robert, holding the squirming and whining Cream at arm's length and looking rather grossed out, followed, while the rest of us chuckled in amusement._

Sally was looking deeply amused by my accounts of my times with Cream.

"You're reminding me more and more of when we raised Tails here," she said. "Those were good times; cute times." She sighed. "He was such an adorable little cub. How fast time seems to have gone by; it seems that in a flash, Tails went from being a little baby to a smart little boy."

I chuckled. "You raised him so well, Sally. I couldn't think of a better person to do so. But do you have any idea what happened to his parents?"

Sally shook her head, her face falling. "No; both mysteriously disappeared shortly after Robotnik's coup and were eventually declared dead. I've meditated on it a lot of times, trying to see what actually happened; nothing came up. There's been nothing in Robotnik's databanks either."

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure we'll find the answer soon. As long as we have God on our side, we can always do what we can."

Sally giggled. "You're a sweet little kitty, Tommy," she said. "So, anything else about your time with Cream?"

"Well, there was one time when Beatrice and I decided to let her have a crawl around and we almost lost her…"

_Beatrice had Cream on her lap and was bouncing her up and down while I watched; Vanilla was in the kitchen. Beatrice loved Cream almost as much as I did._

"_Aww! You're so cute, little bunny!" she squealed at Cream, giving her a nose rub. Cream giggled with delight and stroked Bea's face with her tiny hands before gathering a fistful of her dark red hair. Beatrice didn't mind this one bit as long as Cream didn't pull._

_Cream didn't pull: in fact, she started to run her fingers through Bea's hair, apparently fascinated with its smoothness._

_I chuckled a bit. "Guess she likes your conditioner, huh?"_

_"Aloe and green tea edition; tried once, never went back."_

_I chuckled again. "Well, at least it didn't go to waste. Used on a wonderful amount of hair, no less."_

_Bea giggled. "Thanks, Tommy. I always love to fascinate my friends; especially a sweet young kitty like you and a cute little baby bunny like Cream here." She looked at Cream. "Yes, that's you; that's you!" she cooed sweetly._

_"Beatrice, Thomas? Can you help me with this?" I turned to see Robert walking through the door with a large box of MREs (Meal Ready-to-Eat) on his back. They were all the rage at the moment, as Britain's supplies are seriously limited due to constant threat of siege by Robotnik._

_"Oh, sure thing, Rob," Beatrice said, setting down on a comfy cushion on the sofa. "Stay here, Cream," she said warningly. "No crawling off, please. Understand?"_

_We had discovered that Cream was a very active baby and liked nothing better than crawling about the house, giggling as she went. Unfortunately, she often hid somewhere and we had to find her. I doubted she would just 'stay there' while we gave Robert a hand with the box._

_Sure enough, when I turned back to where we left her, Cream was gone. "Cream!" I called out. "Where'd you go?"_

_"Puffball doesn't know when to sit still," Rob grunted as he and Bea put the heavy box down._

_Bea looked worried. "Cream!" she called. "Where are you, little bunny?"_

_I heard a tiny giggle from close by. Perking up my ears, I listened; it seemed to have come from the kitchen. Putting a finger to my lips, I walked gently towards the kitchen._

_"Where did she go?" I wondered playfully, looking around, a grin on my face. "Did she disappear? Did she turn invisible?"_

_I heard another giggle; it was coming under the table, which was covered by a cloth. Grinning more broadly, I gently knelt down, grabbed the table cloth and pulled it up. But Cream wasn't there; she must have crawled off. Smart baby!_

_I went back into the living room. "Ready or not, here I come! I'm getting warmer! FE-FI-FO-FUM!" Rob and Bea were standing there, looking amused at my little game. Bea pointed silently to the sofa._

_I heard Cream giggle again; she was probably hiding underneath it. I grinned again._

"_I wonder where she is now," I said playfully._

_I tiptoed behind the sofa, knelt down and pulled up the fabric. There was Cream, lying on her front, still giggling. I reached out and grabbed her by her tiny leg. "Come out of there, you hyper, sneaky little rascal!" I teased, pulling her out. Cream squealed loudly as I lifted her up and held her in my arms._

"_You just don't keep still, do you?" I said, giving her a nose-rub. Cream merely giggled and stroked my face. Then she gave a squeaky little yawn and rested her head on my chest._

"_Aww, looks like someone needs a beddy-bye," Beatrice said, giving Cream her dummy for her to suck on. I stroked Cream's head and before long, she fell asleep in my arms._

"_Let's put her to bed, shall we?" I said quietly. Beatrice nodded and we headed into Cream's bedroom and I gently set Cream down in her crib and pulled the blanket over her. She snuggled down into bed, breathing slowly._

_Bea and I smiled down at her; she was always cute, whether awake or asleep. I gently made her mobile spin and then crept out of the room and shut the door carefully behind us._

"You know, Sally," I said, "Not all my times with Cream were good. Remember what I told you about Dirk Roswell?"

"That bullying git?" Sally said, disgusted. "What about him?!"

"Well, Beatrice convinced me to tell on him and so I did. The police managed to track him and his gang down, but while his gang and his father were arrested, Roswell himself escaped and I hadn't heard from him in months. However, the police promised to keep an eye out for him."

"What about you?" Sally asked. "Didn't the police assign you some personal bodyguards?"

"My uncle couldn't afford it," I said. "However, two policemen could be assigned to watch me all the time, in case Roswell had a go at me.

"Months went by and there was no sign of Roswell whatsoever. However, during the December of the year Cream was born, he finally showed up again..."

December 2nd, 3406:

_We were in the local park: Bea and I were sitting in the grass, toying with Cream as she lightly crawled around in the weak winter sun: Vanilla was sitting on a bench, reading, occasionally looking up to watch her baby daughter and smiling warmly. Rob and Sophie were playing cards together; Rob was winning, or so it looked at first._

_I heard Robert sigh. "Darn it. I fold." He put down his cards while Sophie smiled victoriously. "That's the last time I bluff with a pair of 3's."_

_"Pay up, Rob," Sophie said, holding out a hand. Growling, Rob pulled a bag of sweets from his pocket and handed it to her._

_Bea giggled. "These two," she said quietly, absentmindedly tickling Cream as she crawled by, before allowing Cream to suck her finger. I wasn't listening; I was miles away._

_"Tommy?" Bea said. "Is something wrong?"_

_I looked at her. "It's Dirk Roswell, Bea. It's been several months and the police haven't seen hide or hair of him. And he swore he'd kill me if I told on him."_

_Bea shook her head. "You worry too much, Tom. That coward doesn't have the gall to hurt a fly when someone else is around, much less you."_

_I looked down the street; I could see the two police sitting by in their unmarked car, chatting with their cohorts over the radio. "I wouldn't be too sure about that," I mumbled. "He sounded serious."_

_"He's just trying to scare you into paranoia," Bea said reassuringly. "C'mon, just relax a bit."_

_I looked back at Bea, and I offered an appeasing smile. "Okay. Want to play cards with Rob and Sophie?"_

_Bea chuckled. "I'd like to, but Sophie's a little too good at it. How about the swings?"_

_I thought about it. "Hmm, okay," I said. I always loved going on the swings with Bea. "But what about Cream?" Cream had just crawled up to us, looking at us with cute brown eyes. "I can't take her on the swing with me; she might fall off."_

_Bea chuckled again. "She won't have too; she can sit with Vanilla. They deserve some mother-daughter time."_

_I smiled. "Sure; let's go." I got up, picked up Cream and we were just about to head over to Vanilla, when..._

_"Well, well, well... look what we have here!"_

_I paled; I knew that voice all too well. "Oh, crud," I said._

_I turned and saw Dirk Roswell himself casually strolling up to us, tossing a rock in the air and catching it again. He was tall for a human in his preteens, rather rotund, with black hair, dark eyes and a rather upturned nose_

_"Oh, gob-shite," Bea muttered as I tried to hide Cream (and, admittedly, myself) behind her. "What do you want, Dirk?"_

_Roswell tossed the rock a final time and then threw it behind him. "Just came to talk with Tom, to 'bury the hatchet,' as it were, Beatrice," he said with a far too casual air. He came closer to us, holding out a hand, but then Dirk shoved Bea out of the way and left me exposed. "Of course, I'm burying the hatchet in your skull! I warned you, Holmesy and now you're gonna pay!" He pulled a knife from his pocket and punched me. I fell, accidentally dropping Cream in the process and she fell to the ground, crying out in fear._

_"Look, Dirk, I'm really sorry that your mother died," I said pleadingly. "But you can't blame all Mobians!"_

_"I can and I will," Roswell replied. __The human loomed over me, knife ready, and..._

_The sound of a gunshot made Dirk jump in shock, drop the knife, stumble and then fall flat on his back. I looked up: Vanilla stood by the park bench she'd been sitting on, a Micro-Uzi machine pistol aimed directly at Dirk's head. "If you lay a finger on him or my daughter, I will empty the mag into your chest!" she hissed._

_Dirk raised his hands. "Please, miss, don't hurt me!" he said, though his tone sounded too calm for someone held at gunpoint. "Please don't!"_

_Vanilla lowered the pistol and moved towards him. "I'll spare you for the police," she said. "But no tricks, alright?"_

_"I'll stay right here while the cops come for me; you had my word," Roswell said, but I saw him sneak a grin at me out of the corner of his mouth. I knew Roswell better. He was tricking Vanilla with false sincerity; lure her into a false sense of security and then he'd make his move. I opened my mouth to cry out and warn her, but too late!_

"NOT!"_ Roswell shouted and faster than Vanilla could react, he punched in the stomach and she fell, winded, to the ground. "Sucker!" he hissed. He turned to me. "Now, _Holmesy_, how about I break your other ear?!"_

_Then, there was a loud wailing; Cream, terribly frightened, especially over her mother getting hurt, was crying. Roswell was annoyed by it. __He bent down and grabbed Cream by the ears. __"What's the matter, baby?" he said mockingly. "Are you afraid of little old me?" Cream wailed more loudly; several people were looking in shock, apparently unsure what to do._

_Rob and Sophie both ran at Roswell, but he knocked them away with one swipe of his arm._

_"OI, YOU!" The two policemen are running towards Roswell, drawing their guns. "Unhand that baby!"_

_Roswell snatched up Vanilla's Micro-Uzi and held it to Cream's head. "Stop or I'll shoot!" he shouted._

_The two policemen stopped their guns at the ready. ""Don't make us hurt you, Dirk," one said. Put the baby down."_

"_I'm afraid I can't do that, officers," Dirk said, smirking evilly. "Take one step, and we'll see just how fragile a baby's skull is."_

_The sight of my siblings and Vanilla on the ground, Roswell holding a gun to Cream's head...it was too much. "Cream." I had no idea what came over me, but I felt something in me take over my muscles and throw a red mist in front of my eyes. I got to my feet, extended my claws, and with an unnatural howl, I pounced. "ROSWELL!"_

_My childhood tormentor dropped Cream again in surprise, and before he could pull the trigger on me I buried my claws in his left cheek. My right hand did the same to the other cheek, and then I clamped my fangs wherever I could on Dirk's face. Dirk cried out in shock._

"_Get off me, you stupid animal!" he shouted._

_I held on tightly, but then he eventually shoved me off and attempted to run away. _

_I, however, wasn't satisfied. The something that had given me the rush of fury focused on Vanilla's machine pistol, somehow wrenched it away from Dirk's hand, and brought it into my own hand. Uncle Norman's lessons then came to the front of my mind; _'Centre mass.'_ I aimed at the beaten human as he ran for the nearest building. My sights found his rotund torso, and I pulled the trigger once._

**CRACK!**

_Dirk face-planted on the cement, clutching his lower back in agony: I had shot him in the spine._

_The red mist finally faded. I numbly dropped the weapon and fell on my knees. The officers, who had been staring dumbfounded, finally moved. One went to cuff Roswell, talking with other officers on his radio as he jogged down the street._

_The other officer stayed, looking at me with that same shock but managing to walk towards me, squatting down to meet me at eye level. "Kid..." he said slowly, "Kid, what you just did was a very brave thing indeed, defending your family like that. You've got more of your father in you than just looks." He patted me on the shoulder, a proud smile on his face. "And knowing that makes my job a lot easier." He stood up. "Stay here. I'm going to see if your mates are okay."_

"_Okay, officer," I said; I just knelt there, quite shocked at what I'd just done. Roswell might have been a nasty bully, but had I done right to claw at him and then shoot him in the back? And what had that red mist been about? Where had that power I'd felt come from?_

_I was pulled back to my senses by Cream's crying. Fortunately for her, she had landed on one of her soft toys when Roswell had dropped her and then rolled into tall grass, cushioning her fall; otherwise, she might have been killed. She was scared half to death by what had just happened._

_I scooped her up hurriedly and hugged her tightly to her chest. "Shh, shh, quiet," I whispered softly in her ear. "Shh, it's okay. The nasty boy's gone now; you're safe with me; shh, shh, there, there." Cream grabbed my shirt and wailed loudly into my chest, while I gently stroked her back, whispering softly to her._

_"My baby! My baby!" Vanilla came hurrying over, her face white with fear._

_"Are you alright?" I asked her._

_"I'm fine!" Vanilla gasped. "But my baby...!"_

_"She's okay," I said hurriedly. "She's fine." I held Cream out to her mother. Vanilla took her and hugged her tightly._

_"Shh, shh, it's okay, sweetie," she whispered. "There, there; it's okay, Mummy's here; Mummy's got you. You're safe now."_

_Slowly, Cream calmed down, sniffling._

"_Oh, Thomas," Vanilla said, looking at me. "You… you saved my baby. Thank you! How did you do it?"_

_I looked away. I didn't know how I'd done it… until now…_

(Present):

"So that was the first time you used the Force?" Sally asked.

"The first I can recall. Now that I think about it, that was actually also the first time I felt the Dark Side."

Sally's eyes widened. "The Dark Side?"

"Yes," I said. "What Roswell to my family and friends made me so angry, I kinda lost it. To be honest, I'm surprised I didn't kill him."

"Well, you were defending those you love, so I don't blame you," Sally said. "I often had that experience myself."

I stared at Sally in shock. "You?" I asked. "You're kidding, right?"

"I don't kid," Sally said. "That's Sonic's forte."

"So when did _you_ have that experience?" I asked the Princess.

"I can't quite remember when it happened, but I know that Tails was still young then, when I was about 13; we were trying to fortify Knothole as our base of operations. Sonic was out getting supplies and, well..."

(Flashback):

_Sally gave Tails a gentle smile as she placed him in bed. "Had fun today?" _

_Tails nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Sonic showed me how to tie a bunch of different knots today, and Rotor showed me how to take apart and rebuild old computers!" He then yawned, the day's work finally catching up to him._

_Sally pulled the blanket over Tails and tucked him in. "Shall I read you a story?" she asked._

_Tails merely yawned again. "No, I'm too tired, Aunt Sally."_

_Sally gave Tails his funny kiss; one kiss on both cheeks and then one on his nose. "Goodnight, sweetie."_

_"Night, Aunt Sally," Tails said sleepily, before closing his cheeks and falling asleep. Sally tiptoed out of the door and carefully shut the door._

_Just when she was heading off to her own hut, however, Sally's ears detected a faint whimper. "Go away," Tails' voice said, barely above a whisper. Sally turned back to her nephew's room, but she said nothing. The fur on her neck prickled as she came closer. "Go away, Tall Man. You're just..." A yawn interjected. "...my imagination. Go away, before I call Aunt Sal on you."_

_All of Sally's fur stood on end by the time she reached the door. She then reached inside her vest and took out a bowie knife: it was probably just a nightmare, she figured, but it wouldn't hurt to err on the side of caution. After all, not long ago, Robotnik had sent an android copy of Sally to spy on the Freedom Fighters._

_That android had been so good; even Sonic had been fooled by it. Tails, however, had realised the android wasn't his Aunt Sally when it had failed to fully copy Sally's actions._

_Holding the knife at the ready, Sally pushed the door open. A dark figure was standing over Tails' bed, bearing down on him._

_Reacting to the threat to Tails, Sally lunged forward. She fully intended to cut the intruder's throat, but then an aura of deep blue energy enveloped her body and froze her in place. Sally panicked and tried to scream, but the energy held her mouth shut as well._

_Sally's anger flared as she attempted to free herself. Why had that _thing_ broken in? What was that doing with _her_ little Tails? Rage boiled up inside her; the bonds slackened for a moment, but then tightened their grip. She could do nothing._

_The figure kept itself leant over Tails, murmuring a bit into the sleeping child's ears. It was too much for Sally; next moment, a surge of power welled up inside her; her hands glowed suddenly blue and she broke free of her bonds and went straight for the dark figure, brandishing the knife at him or her._

_The dark figure didn't seem perturbed by Sally's attack; before Sally could thrust the knife forward, he or she grabbed Sally's wrist; the knife fell from Sally's grasp and next moment, she was flipped over onto the floor. Sally was so stunned by this that she remained there for a moment._

_Tails has stirred due to the commotion, but then the figure leaned down again and whispered in his ear. A peaceful grin appeared on Tails' face, and then the dark figure stood upright._

_Sally blinked, and then she and the figure were in a clearing, surrounded by trees for as far as the eye could see. "I beg thy pardon for thy manhandling, dear Sally, but I could not risk accidental harm to thy son." The figure stepped into the moonlight: a beautiful dark blue mare. A long horn protruded from the top of her head, a pair of wings flared from her back, and her mane seemed to be made of the night sky itself. "It is most unusual for thee to not read him a story before bed."_

_The starry-maned equine helped Sally up from the ground, a concerned frown on her face. "Thine anger, although 'twas righteous in nature, troubles me. There is more to thee than meets the eye, Sally Acorn; a very special power in thee has awakened."_

_Sally stared wide-eyed at the mare, unsure of whether to be awed by the mare's beauty or terrified by her sheer strength. "A power? What are you talking about? And who are you? _What _are you?"_

_The mare's frown turned to a motherly half-smile. "I am Luna, thy son's nocturnal guardian. The Great I Am has tasked me with battling Tails' nightmares and any other threat he may encounter by night. My sister is thy son's daytime guardian."_

"_Is that how you know my name?" Sally asked._

_Luna nodded." I know everything that happens to him; I know that he particularly loves the story of 'Rapunzel' and that thee can do a scary witch voice to add effect. Tis true that thou generally reads a story to Tails before bed."_

_Sally was slightly puzzled by Luna's medieval tones, but nonetheless, she said, "He told me he didn't mind."_

_"A mistake, it was." Luna closed her sea green eyes and sighed. "Has Sonic been telling him stories recently?"_

_Sally blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?" _

_Opening her eyes, Luna turned her gaze back on Sally. "I know for a fact that while thou tellest tales of fantasy and adventure, that hedgehog tends to gravitate toward tales of suspense and horror. Last night, the night beforehand, and tonight I had to enter Tails' dreams to fight his nightmares. Thou must have a word with Sonic over this."_

_"I think I will, but you are aware that Tails isn't really my son, right?" Sally said._

_Luna nodded. "Yes, I am aware that thee is acting mother to young Miles Prower and have been since thou was but a little girl."_

_Luna's medieval tones were perplexing Sally, but she said, "So, what is this power you mentioned?"_

_"It is a power all living beings possess, Princess," Luna said as she folded her wings to her back. "It is generated by the very act of living, but few discover it. Even fewer utilize it, let alone to their fullest ability. Our Lord never gave it an official name, wishing for His sons and daughters to utilize their imaginations in describing it."_

_Sally wanted to huff in frustration, but thought better of it. "Is that what you used to bind me?" she asked._

_The night angel shook her head. "'Tis not so, at least not wholly. I discharged tangible energy from my horn and simultaneously used the Power to mould the energy into a medium that would keep you immobile." When met with Sally's blank stare, Luna blushed as if she had suddenly remembered to say "excuse me" after a particularly loud belch. "What I mean to say is that I bound you in energy and used the Power to form the energy into restraints."_

_That was definitely easier for Sally to understand. "Oh, right," she said. "Can you tell me more about this power?"_

_Luna shook her head. "I cannot," she said. "Thee must learn how to wield this power for thyself. Besides, I can only appear at night and thy Princess needs her beauty sleep, I'm sure." She stepped away from Sally. "I must go now; my work here is done. But thou must tell no one of thy encounter with me or of what I told thee. Understand, Princess?"_

_"Okay," Sally said tentatively. Luna smiled and then, she faded away._

_"And if thou dost happen to tell anyone," Luna's voice said, "thou should expect some missing valuables. And a sudden, severe aversion to spiders." A pair of ethereal, yet mischievous giggles filled the air and finally faded out as well._

(Present)

"So you didn't tell anyone," I said. "Not even Tails?"

"No," Sally said. "But now, I have told you. I might as well prepare for the repercussions Luna warned me about."

"Maybe," I said, "but I don't think it'll be too bad."

"Right," Sally said. "So, anyway, back to you; what exactly happened to Roswell after that encounter?"

"Well," I said with a sigh, "Dirk never bothered me again. It turned out that the rounds in the Uzi were hollow-points instead of solid lead, so he had sixteen fragments stuck in his lower back and pelvis. Although the doctors got all of them, they couldn't repair his spine: he was permanently confined to a wheelchair."

"Well, serves him right," Sally said. "That will teach him to respect his fellow living beings."

"As I said before," I went on, "he was sentenced to 17 years without parole. As he was led away, he swore that he'd have his revenge on me. But I wasn't really worried about that; what really concerned me was the power I'd felt inside me when I'd shot him. Obviously, I didn't know it was the Force. When I gave my account as the victim at the trial, I tried to explain it, but didn't really know how to.

"Did they persecute you for using a gun?"

"No, they didn't; they realized I'd acted out of defence of myself and my family.

"But on the evening of that incident, Cream was still frightened by what had happened; not that you could blame her. But when I calmed her down, she said her first words that night… she said my name…"

(Flashback):

_I carried Cream into her bedroom, hoping to set her down to sleep. However, Cream was still frightened over what had happened today with Roswell; she was whimpering slightly._

_"Shh, quiet, Cream," I whispered to her. "It's okay; the nasty boy's gone. There's no one here to hurt you; you're safe with me."_

_Cream was still whimpering as I set her in her crib. I had to cheer her up, but how?_

_Cream fretted quietly, her face scrunching up like Sophie said I used to do at that age. Wait...at that age..._

_A little voice in the back of my mind moved to the front. It was quiet, but I recognised it: Mum's voice._

"Stop your crying, it will be all right

Just take my hand, hold it tight"

_My breath caught. That was the tune Sophie sang to me during bad storms and the bombing raids. I couldn't help but sing along._

"I will protect you from all around you,  
I will be with you, don't you cry

For one so small, you seem so strong  
My arms will keep you safe and warm  
This bond between us can't be broken  
I will be here, don't you cry

'Cause you'll be in my heart,  
Yes you'll be in my heart  
From this day on, now  
And forever more."

_I looked up, and I thought I saw a vaguely feminine outline standing to my left._

_"Mum?" I whispered quietly. But then, the outline disappeared._

_I looked back down at Cream; she had stopped fretting and she was looking up at me with her wide brown eyes. I reached down and stroked her tiny cheek. "You feeling better now, Creamy? My mother used to sing to me when I was your age, Sophie told me. And know this: as the song says, you'll always be in my heart, Cream; now and forever more."_

_Cream looked at me and then, she smiled at me, showing her first tooth and then she reached up at me. I reached down and picked her back up again, holding her close to my chest and giving her my finger to suck and nibble on._

_I heard a soft sigh from Cream, the type one would normally hear from a sleeping pup. Then, I heard something else: a voice. It was faint, but I heard it very clearly thanks to my species' acute hearing. _

"_Nighty, Tommy."_

_I stared down at the tiny bunny in my arms as she slowly fell asleep, clutching at my shirt with a tiny hand; she'd said her first proper words. And she'd said my name as well! It was then that I realized how much Cream meant to me; she wasn't just my friend anymore; she was my little sister. I loved my brother and sister very much, but being the youngest of three had made me feel slightly shadowed over at times. But now, I had a little sister; this little bunny was my sister now. I just couldn't let her go; she was too precious. So I grabbed Cream's blanket from her crib and gently wrapped her in it. Then, I just collapsed onto the small sofa in Cream's room, holding her close to my chest and gently kissing her forehead. Then I gave a big yawn and within moments, I was asleep._

_What I would find out in the morning, where I woke to find myself covered in a blanket, was that Vanilla had heard everything and she was so pleased with my song to her daughter._

(Present):

Sally smiled warmly. "Aww, that was so sweet of you, Tommy; singing that wonderful, soothing song to Cream. You were more than worthy of being her big brother."

I smiled back, brushing away a tear from my eye."That very next morning, she said some more words: 'Ro', 'Mummy' and 'So'. She had learned all our names now. She was such a great baby.

"The months I spent with Vanilla and Cream were the best I'd had in a very long time," I said, "but alas, it was not to last."

"What do you mean?"

"Shortly after Roswell was jailed, another air raid hit us and Vanilla and Cream's home was damaged by one of the bombs. Oh, they were okay," I added quickly, when Sally looked shocked, "they were in their shelter when it happened, but they had to move away. I was so shocked to hear that they had to go; we all were. We loved Vanilla and Cream and Uncle Norman was even prepared to let them stay with us, but it could not be so. They had to be moved to the country, where they'd be safe. It was a hard and teary goodbye…"

_We were standing outside the remnants of Vanilla's house. The top right part of the house had been destroyed and unfortunately, Cream's room had been there. The house applicants and furniture that had survived had been packed into a moving truck and the rest had been put into a car provided by the _Protection ofCivilians Agency (PCA)_. We were now saying our goodbyes._

"_Goodbye, Vanilla," Norman said to his old friend, embracing her. "I'll miss you; thank you for helping me care for my nephews and niece."_

"_It was a pleasure, Norman," Vanilla said. Then, she turned to Rob and Sophie._

"_Don't go, please, Miss Vanilla," Rob said desperately._

"_Please stay," Sophie begged._

_Vanilla smiled sadly. "I'm really sorry, young kittens," she said gently. "I don't want to leave either, but I have to. I'll never forget any of you and hopefully, we will see each other again. These last several months with you three have been the best I've had since my husband died. I can't thank you enough."_

"_Nor can we," Rob said, as he and Sophie hugged Vanilla tightly._

_I was holding Cream and looking down on her, my heart aching terribly._

"_I'll miss you so much, Cream," I said quietly to her, stroking her cheek, my eyes full of tears. "You mean more to me than you know; you're my little sister and you always will be. You'll be in my heart always." I kissed her forehead gently. "Goodbye, Cream; I love you."_

_Cream smiled at me with an adorable smile, her single tooth gleaming at me. Then, she took a deep breath and said in a quiet voice, stroking her cheek while doing so, "Love you, Tommy."_

_I fell to my knees began to cry openly. When Vanilla came to take her, I wouldn't let her daughter go; I didn't want her to leave me. But then, Sophie whispered gently in my ear._

"_Please, Tommy… Think about how Vanilla feels; Cream is her baby girl. She'll be safe; I promise."_

_At this, I realized that it had to be this way. Still crying silently, I gave Cream one last kiss and a tight hug for as long as I could hold it, before I finally relinquished it and gave Cream to her mother; Cream wasn't happy about it._

"_Goodbye, Thomas," Vanilla said quietly, giving me a gentle kiss on the forehead. "I'll never forget you."_

"_I wouldn't ever forget you either," I said, sobbing gently. Vanilla smiled warmly at me, stroking my cheek._

"_Come along, Mrs Rabbit," the driver said solemnly. "It's time to go." But he did look touched by the emotional goodbye._

_Vanilla got into the car with her daughter and the driver started the engine. Vanilla waved to us through the window as she went. Rob and Sophie and Uncle Norman waved back, but as for me… I had eyes only for Cream, the closest I had to a little sister. She stared back at me, reaching out tiny hands towards me. Then, the car set off after the moving van. I watched the two vehicles move down the road away from us, until they turned a corner and disappeared from view._

_I was still crying silently. Would I ever see Cream again?_

"_Tommy?" Rob asked. "Are you alright, little bro?"_

"_I… I need to be alone for a bit," I said quietly, getting up._

"_But Tommy…"_

"_Just, leave me alone for a bit, okay?" I insisted, before turning and heading off down the road in the opposite direction. I heard my siblings try to go after me, but Uncle Norman stopped them, for which I was thankful._

"_Just leave him be, you two; he needs some time by himself. We all do. After all, I needed a lot of it after I lost… my beloved sister… and your father..."_

* * *

**And that's how it was with me and Cream**

**A/N: BTW, I'm NOT a brony! The presence of Luna in Sally's flashback is because Jerry Lannigan put her there when he was helping with this chapter, for which he has my thanks as always.**

**See you next time.**

**With all due respect**

**Thomas Holmes II**


	4. Visions

Premonition

**A/N: Thomas' vision of Vanilla and Cream is inspired and based by 'A Mother's Sacrifice' by Toni the Mink**

* * *

Sally just sat there, staring at me, her eyes wide; my head was bowed and tears were still trickling down my face.

"Hardly a day goes by when I don't miss those two sweet rabbits," I said quietly. "I especially miss Cream; she was like the little sister I never had. Now, I loved my brother and sister, Sal, and I still do, but being the youngest of three often made me feel rather shadowed over by them. And even now, living with you guys, I still get that feelings; no offence, but most of you guys are older than me; in your teens, whereas I'm still preteen. To have a younger sister was something quite special to me; Cream was special to me." I looked at Sally. "It's been nearly six years now, Sally; ever since we parted, I never heard anything from them; no letters ever came to us, though that was mainly due to bad postal service, but I thought something would have gotten through to us. I'd give anything to see Cream again. But I don't know whether she's alive or dead now."

"Well, you never know when luck might grant you your wish, Tommy. Besides, it sounds like you saw her in those dreams you've been having," Sally said. "They could be a sign. Masters Chartreus and Issachar always said that dreams can be a sign."

"Yeah," I agreed, "but I'm not sure whether these dreams are real or not. At times, they seem distorted. I'm still having trouble with my PTSD, Sally; maybe these dreams are just reminders of my days in the torture chambers. I don't know; maybe I need to think on it."

Sally nodded. "Maybe you should talk about this with Master Blackthorn; he may have better suggestions," she said wisely.

"Yeah," I said, "I think I will. Thanks for the advice, Sal."

"And thank you for that great story," Sally replied. She got up and stretched. "I feel much better now. I knew coming here would be a great way to unwind. And you have certainly unwound me, Tommy."

"My pleasure to be of service, Princess," I said. "If you wish to tell the others what I've told you, be my guest. But make sure they don't laugh about it."

I watched Sally stretching a little, gazing out across the reserve, looking rather distant and how her sleek brown fur rippled in the sun. Then, I remembered something.

"Sally," I said, "can I ask you something?"

"Fire away."

"You know that I read about you guys before I came to Knothole? Well, in some stories, I noticed that you were orange with blonde hair; in others, you were pink with black hair; and here, you're brown with auburn hair. Why is that, exactly? Can you change your fur colour or something?"

Sally giggled slightly. "No," she said. "It's actually quite an amusing story, really, looking back on it. Let me tell you what happened. During a mission to Robotropolis where we were investigating the Nazis' intent of using dangerous chemicals for warfare, we came under fire and I fell into a chemical bath. It wasn't anything toxic," she added quickly when I looked alarmed, "otherwise, I wouldn't be here today. However, it left my fur orange and my hair blonde. You wouldn't believe the number of baths I took trying to wash it all out; it took weeks to completely remove it. All that bathing eventually gave her my pink hue and my blonde hair didn't go with it, so I dyed it black until my fur was back to normal."

I chuckled. "No wonder you didn't look too happy in this newsflashes I saw of you." I paused for a moment. "Sally, why exactly do you wear that blue vest and those boots and nothing else?"

Sally looked at me, slightly surprised. I blushed bright red. "Sorry," I said quickly. "I shouldn't have said that…"

"No, no," Sally said. "It's alright to ask. Well, when I first got these clothes from Julayla, they just looked right on me."

"Who exactly was Julayla?"

"She was my old mentor; she taught everything I know about leadership. She was the closest thing I had to a mother; I loved her so much. Then one day, she… fell terribly ill from her age and… died not too long ago."

"I'm so sorry," I said quietly.

"No, it's okay," Sally said with a sad smile. "She had a great life. Anyway, as I said, she left me this vest and these boots; when I tried them on, they looked very good on me by themselves."

"But then, why did you choose to make your jumpsuit?"

"Well, during my training, my masters told me it does help to wear clothing, especially when in battle. And when I came across the material for my jumpsuit, it felt so smooth and comfortable. I was told that despite its smoothness, it's completely bulletproof and can resist chemicals as well. So I fashioned it into a jumpsuit, though of course, I kept my vest and boots with it."

"Yeah," I said, "and it's a great look for you too, Sal."

Sally smiled. "Thanks." Then, next moment, she screamed. _"AAAAAGGGGHHHH!"_

"What is it?!" I cried, jumping up and whipping out my lightsaber, half-expecting to see enemies all around us. But there was no one else here.

"What is it?" I asked, lowering my blade and rather annoyed by how Sally had just scared me with that scream.

Sally pointed to the bench. "Sp-sp-spider," she stammered, frightened. I looked where she was pointing. There was a small spider crawling on the bench. That was what had scared her? Sally had faced almost certain death several times in the past, especially since she became a Jedi in-training, and yet she shrieked at the sight of a small spider?

I shuddered at the sight of it. I didn't like spiders myself; they were creepy. Sometimes in the past, I'd stamped on them. However, I knew better than to stamp on it now; it was a living creature, no matter how creepy it was. So, I leant down and flicked it away.

Sally looked around, an indignant glare on her face. After about thirty seconds, she turned back to me and sighed. "Sorry about that, Thomas. It seems Luna is practicing what she was preaching. I should have known this would happen."

I bit my lip to hide a grin. "Um, Sally? Your vest disappeared."

Sally looked down and sure enough, her blue vest had gone, leaving her chest completely uncovered. While it had never really been covered by the vest, I was still embarrassed to see her breasts completely prominent.

"My vest!" Sally cried. "My precious blue vest! It was a gift from Julayla! I'm going to check on my other stuff before Luna takes anymore." And she literally flew off without another word.

Chuckling lightly to myself, I left the nature reserve and headed for the Knothole Training Facility; if Master Errol was anywhere, he'd most likely be there.

As I walked, I continued to ponder my dreams. Were they premonitions or were they just reminders of my days as a Nazi prisoner? I just couldn't figure it out. But Errol would know what to do; he was an experienced Jedi after all, so he could definitely help me out.

The training facility did not exactly look aesthetically pleasing, nor well-built: in fact, it had the visual appeal of a Brazilian favela crossed with a boot camp. Buildings made from mud, sticks, homemade concrete, sheet metal, and glass bottles served as houses and armouries; three tents made of tetrapod hides formed the classrooms; and in the centre of it all was a massive training ground made of obstacle courses and slick, black mud. Humans and Mobians milled about the camp; most of them carried assorted assault rifles, but a few I saw carrying lightsabres on their belts.

Master Errol was nowhere to be seen, but I noticed that his Padawan Hurit was in the sparring area, talking with some Freedom Fighters – Hamlin Pig, Dylan the Porcupine, and Penelope Platypus. She was showing them her lightsaber and they were all staring at it in amazement.

"This is the weapon we Jedi wield in combat," Hurit was saying. "It is an elegant weapon; not as clumsy or random as an assault rifle. We feel it as a part of our body; it is the blade of our heart."

"Can we wield a lightsaber?" Penelope asked.

"Anyone can wield a lightsaber," Hurit said, "but only we Jedi and our ancient enemy, the Sith can use them properly and avoid slicing ourselves up in the process. This blade is superheated plasma and can cut through almost anything. You do not want to be on the end of this blade; trust me on that."

Right as she said that, I looked to my left and saw Jerry glance up from what appeared to be an incomplete suit of armour. He said nothing, but he rolled his eyes and went back to his work.

I chuckled, knowing just how much that saying annoyed Jerry. "If elegance won wars," he had said a while back, "then we'd have never developed past Dark Age technology. Just because you can open jars with your mind doesn't mean you have to look down on those who prefer their own two hands."

Then, I noticed Rotor working on his lightsaber. After studying schematics provided by Master Errol, Rotor had taken an interest in the double-bladed lightsaber, otherwise known as a sabrestaff. He had constructed another lightsaber identical to his first and was now joining the two weapons end-to-end. I had to admit; the saberstaff was quite an intriguing weapon, but I preferred to use just a single blade.

I approached Hurit. "Excuse me," I said.

Hurit turned. "Oh, hello, Tommy!" she said brightly. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Hi, Hurit," I said shyly. "Have you seen Errol anywhere?"

"My master?" Hurit switched off her lightsaber and clipped it to her belt. "I think he's at the target range behind HQ with a couple of Army Rangers. He said he wants to know how to shoot in case he somehow loses his lightsabre or mastery of the Force." She chuckled. "I'm not sure how that could happen, though. I guess Errol's just being… well, Errol."

"I see," I said. "Well, there's something I wish to talk to him about."

"Well, you can tell me," Hurit said. "Anything to return the favour for you saving me."

"Well..." I said as I scratched my neck, "I've been having weird visions lately while sleeping, and I was going to ask Errol if he could help me get some perspective on them."

Hurit seemed intrigued. "Is there anything you _can_ tell from them?"

"Well, they all seem to involve two old friends of mine; Vanilla Rabbit and her daughter Cream, whom I knew when she was a baby. I haven't seen her for over 5 years now and I fear these dreams might mean she could be in danger or else, will be in danger. I just can't tell right now whether it's the present or future."

"Well, the future is shrouded in mystery," Hurit said, stroking her chin with a webbed hand. "My master always told me that we should meditate on them; relax our thoughts and let the visions flow; only then would they become clearer. But maybe Errol can provide better guidance; I do still have a lot to learn about Force visions, to be honest."

"Excuse me," Dylan said. "I humbly apologize if I'm interrupting anything, but do you think you could give us a little demonstration of how to wield a lightsaber?"

Hurit looked at him, her eyebrows raised. "I don't see why not," she said eventually. She turned to me. "What do you say, Thomas?"

I thought about it for a moment. "I don't know," I said.

"It might take your mind off your troubles for a moment," Hurit said. "Come on! Let's see what you've got!" She was daring me as she drew her lightsaber again and held it in front of her face, saluting to me. "En garde!"

"Alright; as you wish." I drew my own lightsaber and gazed at it for a moment. I've never actually described my lightsaber's design, have I? Well, it was nothing fancy or sophisticated, like Sonic and Sally's were; it was fairly standard and set into three sections. The middle third was slightly thinner than the rest of the handle and had a ridged handgrip above the charging port. The activator was set just above the handgrip and the emitter barrel was lined with radiator grooves. With Rotor's help, I'd engraved my family's motto on the handle: _Ad iustium, honor et pax in namen Domini__._

I activated the blade and held it at head height, parallel to my left arm in a back-hand grip; the Soresu opening position. I circled with Hurit, waiting for her to make the first move, as Hamlin, Dylan and Penelope watched intently.

For a moment, neither of us did anything; then, I attacked. Hurit parried the attack with ease.

"Good, Tommy," Hurit said. "Remember, keep your focus on your opponent's blade; never let it slip from your eye." She then jabbed out at me; I parried the attack

I made another attack, slashing out at Hurit with wild, yet controlled attacks, based on my learning of Ataru from Sonic. Hurit easily parried each attack, rendering them useless; not that I was surprised, seeing as she'd had much more experience than me.

Dylan, Hamlin and Penelope were simply amazed at the display; even Jeremy and Rotor had looked up from their work to watch, as our blue blades clashed again and again.

"Stop using the standard attacks," Hurit said as she parried another attack. "Use the unorthodox!"

I continued attacking, whirling it around and meeting Hurit's blade at every moment, until she aimed a kick at me in the chest, which knocked me back.

"Come on, Tommy," she said. "Hit me with something other than your lightsabre."

"I don't want to hurt you, Hurit," I said, getting back up.

"I'll be fine," Hurit said. "It's okay; you can hurt me if you want. I give you full permission; after all, in real combat, that's what you'll need to do. Remember; your lightsabre isn't your only weapon. You have the Force as well."

"Alright," I said. "As you wish." I focused the Force on my body, allowing it to mould my physical structure. My fur flattened into scales; my body stretched; a hood formed around my head; and my legs and tail fused together into a long, coiling body. I had changed into a snake with arms. The other Freedom Fighters in the vicinity gaped at this; it was quite an amazing sight.

"What do you think of thissssssss, Hurit?" I hissed, flicking my now forked tongue at Hurit, who was looking simply amazed and also quite impressed.

"Very nice," Hurit said. "Most impressive, Tommy. So come on, then; come and get me!"

Without a word, I readied myself and then lashed out straight at Hurit, knocking her over and coiling my body around hers tightly.

"How'ssssss that?" I hissed, before raising my lightsabre for an attack. However, I'd deliberately left Hurit's arms free, so she could still block. And that's what she did.

"Good" she said. "That's using the old noggin. That's certainly an advantage you'll have over your enemies. But that wouldn't be enough. They could easily throw you off; like this."

And next moment, she used a Force Wave to blow me right off.

"Alright," I said. "You're asking for it." And with that, I turned myself invisible, using Force Cloak. "How's this for a trick?"

"Very good," Hurit said. "But you'll need to work on cloaking your presence, or your enemy will sense you coming."

"Can you sense this coming quickly enough?" I said and I grabbed Hurit around the neck from behind.

Then, out of nowhere, a pain shot through my head; my surroundings vanished and a vision flashed into my mind…

_I saw the Roboticizer room; Robotnik was there, accompanied by Snively, Grimer and Talkin and Cluck perched on his shoulder._

"_Bring them in," Robotnik said._

_Next moment, the door opened and two female rabbits were shoved into the room, escorted by two SS bots; a mother and her daughter. The little girl was whimpering in fear and her mother was holding her tightly. One of the bots was clenching a tiny bright blue creature with yellow markings on his body in its hand; the creature was wearing a red bow tie, had a pom-pom above it head and tiny butterfly-like wings. Whatever was it?_

"_Your day has come at last, my dear ladies," Robotnik said. "You, like hundreds of thousands before you, are about to join the service of the mighty Fuhrer of Mobius."_

_The mother attempted to shield her daughter from Robotnik. "Leave my little baby out of this!" she said fiercely. "She's just an innocent child."_

_Robotnik laughed. "In my empire, Miss Vanilla, there's no such thing as innocent Mobians! Take the girl first!"_

_Next moment, the girl was wrenched from her mother's arms by an SS bot. "No, please, let me go! Mama, help me!"_

"_Cream, NO!"_

_Robotnik simply laughed maniacally. "Put her in."_

"_NO! Please, take me instead! I'll do anything, I swear!"_

_Robotnik looked at the mother, his black and red eyes narrowed. For a few moments, he simply stood there, smoking a cigarette on a holder. "Anything?" he said eventually._

"_Yes, anything," the mother said. "Please, I'm begging you! Roboticize me first! I can't bear to see her turned into a robotic slave! Please, PLEASE! I beg you!"_

_Robotnik took a long puff on his cigarette. "Alright, my dear," he said casually, taking Cream up by the ears. "If that is what you so wish… SS bots put her in!"_

_Vanilla was led towards the Roboticizer platform while Cream watched helplessly. The glass tube came down over Vanilla and she gazed at her little daughter one last time. "I love you, honey," she whispered. "Be strong."_

"_MAMA!" Cream wailed as Grimer threw the switch and the machine cackled into life. Robotnik laughed maniacally as Vanilla screamed in agony and Cream cried out in despair._

"_NOOOOOOO!"_

That cry was my own; it couldn't be… not Vanilla; anyone but Vanilla, the closest I'd ever had to a mother since my parents died. This had to be a trick; it had to be…

_The next thing I saw was wreckage; the Roboticizer room looked as though it had just been bombed. Consoles were cracked and spitting out sparks; soldiers and robots lay here and there, the troopers barely conscious and the bots in pieces; the Roboticizer tube itself was cracked, glass covering the floor._

_Cream was breathing heavily, her eyes red and puffy from tears and she was whimpering in fear and grief. She was being restrained by a robotic rabbit; her own mother…_

"_Clearly," Robotnik said, "I forgot how powerful Mobians can be, even at a young age. Still, you little brat!" He smacked Cream hard around the face. "You've wrecked my Roboticizer; it's going to take some time to repair! Oh, you're going to pay dearly for that!" He blew a cloud of smoke in Cream's face before looking at the roboticized Vanilla. "Take your daughter to my Nazi doctors. They'll teach her a few lessons she wouldn't forget. Just get her sniffling face away from me; it's disgusting me!" He then turned to Snively and Grimer. "Get the schematics for the Roboticizer, you two! I need this thing up and running again as soon as possible! Understand?!"_

"_Yes, sir! Right away, sir!"_

_Cream, who was still crying silently, was dragged away by her own roboticized mother, whose face remained utterly emotionless._

I was brought back to my senses when a hand grabbed me from behind and slammed me to the floor and a foot was suddenly on my chest. I opened my eyes to find a turquoise lightsabre pointed right into my face. It was Master Errol; for a moment, he looked threatening, but then, his expression changed to surprise when he saw it was me. The other Freedom Fighters were staring in bemusement and confusion.

"Oh, it's you, Thomas," Errol said rather embarrassed, as he switched off his lightsabre, took his foot off my chest and helped me up. "My humble apologies, young one; I thought you were some weird creature, trying to hurt Hurit."

"We were just sparring, Master Errol," I said. "Hurit and I were demonstrating lightsabre combat to the others here."

"You okay, Thomas?" said Hurit. "Your eyes started glowing white after you grabbed me and you kind of... froze for a second. Is that normal?"

"Err, no, it isn't," I said. "I just had a vision, Hurit, just after I grabbed you from behind."

"Is that the reason why you shouted out in my ear?" Hurit said, inserting a finger in her ear.

"Yeah, sorry about that," I said.

"No, no, it's okay; I can still hear thankfully. But what did you see?"

"I just saw Vanilla and Cream again," I said. "It was clear as a bell this time; Robotnik planned to Roboticize Cream first, but Vanilla pleaded to be taken instead. So Robotnik roboticized her first; that's why I cried out. The next thing I saw was that Cream had somehow managed to wreck the Roboticizer room, so Robotnik had Vanilla… take her to the Nazi doctors to... teach her a few lessons, as he said. It was awful! In fact, I've been having a lot of visions over the last few nights, Master Errol, and they've all involved Cream and Vanilla. I wished to speak with you to discern some perspective out of them… they just seem so real, Master Errol… I don't wish to believe it; Vanilla was like a mother to me when I was a little boy and Cream like a sister. What do these visions mean, master?"

"Visions can be premonitions, Thomas," Errol said quietly. "Warnings, if you will, of events that have already happened, or else, future events that may yet come to pass.

"So what I saw may not have happened yet?" I said hopefully. But before Errol could answer, Sonia came hurrying up.

"Guys, we just got the latest Intel from Robotropolis."

"What news, Sonia?" Hurit asked.

"Well, there was a commotion in the Roboticization facility."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well, apparently, there was an explosion and the whole thing has been wrecked. From what they heard, it was a little _girl_ who did it."

My blood ran cold. Could it be who I feared it could be?

"A girl?" Errol asked.

"Yes; according to this, it was a young rabbit girl named Cream. Her mother had just been roboticized and in her anguish, she unleashed a shock of power that left the place all smashed up."

"She must have been a Force sensitive," Errol said, "And a powerful one too."

I barely heard him. So it was true… Vanilla _had_ been roboticized. She had been the closest I'd had to a mother since my own mother died… she had been roboticized trying to protect her baby girl.

"Did you say her name was Cream?" Hurit asked. "Because Thomas here saw what you've just told us in a vision, Sonia."

Sonia looked at me. "Is that true?"

"Y-yes," I said weakly. "I just did. So it's true… Vanilla's g-gone!" My fists clenched tightly and I felt tears in my eyes.

"I am so sorry, Tommy," Hurit said gently, placing a hand on my shoulder. I felt on the verge of crying.

Just then, I realized something. "If what you've just said is true," I said, "then that means Cream hasn't been roboticized and won't be for some time. How long do you think it will take for them to repair the Roboticizer?"

"Umm, our sources reckon that it could take a day at least," Sonia said.

I wiped my eyes dry. "Then I'm going to the city," I said. "By myself!"

"WHAT?!" Hurit, Errol and Sonia said simultaneously.

"Tommy, you can't; it's too dangerous!"

"You could be captured!"

"Not to mention tortured and roboticized!"

"I don't care," I said, wiping away my tears. "I've already lost Vanilla to the Roboticizer; I'm not going to lose Cream as well!"

"But Thomas, you can't go alone! You're just eleven!"

"The others have been to Robotropolis when they were younger than that!" I said. "I refuse to let them roboticize Cream!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Cool your jets, Tommy!"

I turned. There was Sonic, leaning against one of the posts and looking at me in mild bemusement, but mainly concern.

"I understand your resolve to help your old friend Cream, bro, but the others are right; going alone is too dangerous for you."

"Did Sally tell you…?"

"Yes, she did, albeit briefly while hysterically trying to protect her stuff from apparently disappearing or something." Sonic shook his head. "Sal always did act weird sometimes, but that was beyond weird."

For a moment, I considered telling him about Luna, but I thought better of it; what if Luna started taking my stuff and making me jump at small things as well?

"SONNIKU!" Next moment, Sonic was tackled by a pink blur. Amy had just came charging out of nowhere and thrown her arms around Sonic, hugging him.

"Amy?!" he and I said simultaneously, shocked.

"What are you doing here in Knothole?" Sonic asked, trying to prise Amy off him.

"Oh, Sonic-kun, I can't tell you how pleased I am to see you again!" Amy said, in her native Japanese accent. "Thomas-san saved me; he told me about Christ and now, I'm going to be a Freedom Fighter and a Jedi just like you and…"

"Take it easy, Amy," I said. "Let Sonic breath, please!"

"Miss Rose came to me not too long ago," Errol said, with a small smile. "She said you had helped her come back to Christ and now, she wished to be a Jedi. She definitely had the commitment and she had great potential, so how could I refuse? She's only just finished her initiation; she's not on her way to being a Jedi."

"And I own it all to you, Tommy," Amy said, as she released Sonic.

"Anyway, Tommy, as I was saying before Amy tried to suffocate me again; you can't go alone to Robotropolis; we Freedom Fighters stick together, no matter what."

"But you've often gone alone, haven't you?" I said.

"Yeah," Sonic admitted, "but I have super speed which allows me to zip away before they even know I'm there. You, unfortunately, don't, Tom; you could be in the Roboticizer before you know it."

"Cream is like my little sister, Sonic!" I said firmly, actually advancing on Sonic. "She was one of the very few bright people in my life at the orphanage; it was her that truly inspired me to stand up to Dirk Roswell! She and I share a birthday; she was so precious to me; so wonderful! I loved her more than I can admit and I still do! And I refuse to let them roboticize her, like they did with her poor mother! Do you hear me, Sonic? I WON'T LET THEM!" I shouted the last sentence.

Sonic looked startled by my shouting and rather annoyed. "Do you really think I was actually going to stop you from going, Thomas?" he said irritably. "I want to help you save her, because you're my little brother; I want to help you and I can sense how much you love her! But if you don't want my help, then fine!" He turned away.

All of a sudden, I felt ashamed for shouting at Sonic; he'd only been trying to help me and I'd shouted at him. _What was wrong with me?!_

"Sonic, I'm sorry," I said desperately. "It's just that; Cream and I were so close that I just can't bear to lose her, like I lost Rob and Sophie. Of course you wanted to help me; I don't know what I was thinking when I shouted." I sighed. "I need your help, Sonic."

"No, clearly, you can handle this," Sonic said, without turning round.

I felt like kicking myself. "No, please, I'm really sorry. Oh, I hate myself for saying that; I really do."

Then Sonic laughed as he turned to face me again. "Got ya, didn't I? It's alright, Tommy; I forgive ya. I understand why you're so desperate and I can't be angry at you for the way you feel." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm coming with you, bro."

"Thanks, Sonic," I said quietly.

"I'll come too," Hurit said, stepping forward.

I looked at her. "Why?"

"Because I want to help too, Tom. After all, you helped me, so I want to return the favour."

"Then, I should come as well," Errol said. "You are my Padawan, after all, Hurit."

"Master, with respect, I don't think it necessary that you come with us; this is simply a rescue mission and we can handle this without you. You still need to discuss our next plan of attack against the Nazis with Colin and Aunt Morain."

Errol looked worried. "I let you go off without me once, Hurit and look what happened; you got captured by the Nazis. If it hadn't been for young Thomas here, who knows what would have happened to you! I promised your mother I'd always look after you."

"And you have kept that promise well, Master," Hurit said gently. "But I'm not a little girl anymore; I'm 15 now. I can take care of myself thanks to your training; I'll be fine, trust me."

"She'll be okay with us, Master," Sonic said reassuringly. "With my speed, she'll be back in one piece, I can assure you that."

"And if she doesn't come in one piece?"

"Then I shall claim full responsibility for her condition," Sonic said simply.

Errol sighed. "Alright, you can go, Hurit, but please be careful."

"I will, Master." Hurit turned to Sonic and me. "Should we inform Princess Sally of our rescue mission?"

"I can do that for you," Errol said. "You go on and rescue Cream."

"Can I come?" Amy said suddenly. I started; I'd almost forgotten she was there.

"What?"

"I said, can I come?" Amy said again. "I want to come and help you. After all, Sonic, you saved me from Metal Sonic; and Thomas, you saved me from being eternally punished, so why shouldn't I help you?

"What?!" Errol said. "Amy, you've only just become a Jedi Initiate and you've barely begun training and already, you want to go on a mission to Robotropolis?"

"I have been trained before," Amy said. "As you guys have noticed, I'm Japanese by birth, though I spent most of my time in Britain. I am a descendant of the famed samurai Kawakami Gensai and I live by a bushido code of honour. I'm highly skilled at martial arts and can wield a katana with no problem."

Sonic seemed interested, but he shook his head. "It's still too dangerous, Amy; I'm serious. No amount of training you've been up under could prepare you for what the Nazis have up their sleeves. Besides, you're only 10 years old."

"Tails is 9 years old, and he goes on missions with you," Amy pointed out.

"Yeah, but he's been trained for such missions," I said. "You haven't. I'm sorry, Amy, but you must stay here!"

"He's right, Miss Rose," Errol said, placing a hand on Amy's shoulder. "It's no place for a girl like you."

Amy sighed. "Okay, I'll stay here, but stay careful, won't you, guys?"

"We will, Ames," Sonic said. "Come along, Tommy, Hurit."

We said goodbye to the others and headed for the outskirts of the village. As soon as we got there, Sonic stopped.

"Tommy, Hurit, grab onto me and hold on tight," he said, holding out his arms for us to grab onto as he began to rev up his legs. "It's time to haul some serious haunch!"

Next moment, we blasted off into the Great Forest towards Robotropolis. Hurit and I held on for dear life. I was pretty used to Sonic's speed by now, but Hurit wasn't, as she didn't go zipping around with Sonic like I sometimes did. She seemed to be having difficulty holding on.

"Slow down, please!" she cried.

"Slow?" Sonic said. "Do I look like a slow-mo to you? Speed is my middle name! I don't slow!"

As we headed out across the barren wastelands surrounding the city, only one thought played in my head:

_Hang in there, little Cream; your big brother's coming for you._

* * *

**And that's chapter four! Tell me what you think in a review and feel free to give me any tips for improvement; I welcome them, as long as they are constructive and civil.**

**Thomas Holmes II signing off!**


	5. Reunion

Reunion

**A/N: I own nothing in this story except my OC, Thomas. Jerry belongs to Jeremy Lannigan and Darth Vader belongs to Lucasfilms Ltd.**

* * *

Robotnik sat on his throne, thinking to himself. Ever since his enemies had become Jedi, they had proven more troublesome than before, especially since they now had his brother Colin and his colleagues assisting them. But it was mainly Sonic that concerned him; the blue hedgehog had shown a high level of aptitude and skill with the Force already, even though he had barely months of experience. Robotnik remembered that he himself had always shown high aptitude with the Force when he was young, but even then, it had taken some time to fully take the hand of his powers. All Mobians were known for their high level of adaptability, but Sonic's was simply incredible. Robotnik felt he should look into this blue hedgehog further.

Just then, the door to his throne room opened and Snively and Grimer entered, along with two SS technicians.

"What's the status of the Roboticization facility?" Robotnik asked.

"Repairs are 47 per cent complete, Mein Fuhrer," Grimer said. "We're a little behind schedule, I'm afraid."

"And why is that?" Robotnik asked threatingly. "It should be up and running by now."

"Yeah, but there appears to be quite a few technical difficulties we've encountered during the process," Snively said.

"It seems human spies have installed viruses that are slowing down the process," one of the technicians said.

"Well then deal with them, you fools!" Robotnik said.

"Yes, sir!" the technician said hastily. And he and the others dashed from the room.

Robotnik groaned and massaged his temples. "I'm surrounded by idiots," he muttered.

He then tapped a few buttons on the armrest of his throne, and a holographic image projected from an aperture just in front of the keypad. The image that appeared was a miniaturized human in plain SS garb. "Captain Schmeisser?"

The figure stiffly saluted. "Mein Fuhrer?"

"Give me an update on the rodent girl."

"She is not escaping anytime zoon, if zat is vhat you are asking. She is currently azleep, quite fitfully so. Other zan zat, nozing appears to be out of ze norm."

Robotnik nodded. "Good, good. Any sign of hostile activity in the area around the prison?"

Schmeisser shook his head. "Nein, Herr Fuhrer. I zent a team to sveep ze surrounding buildings, and zey only found turret emplacement left over from ze original resistance."

"Good, good. That is all, Captain." Schmeisser saluted, Robotnik saluted back, and Robotnik closed the link.

Then, Sleet approached. "Mein Fuhrer," he said, saluting.

"What is it now, Sleet?" Robotnik asked.

"Our satellites have spotted a huge ship coming out of hyperspace above Mobius' atmosphere and a small shuttle has requested landing."

Having control over most of Mobius, Robotnik had control over most of the satellites orbiting it. Why he couldn't just use them to detect Knothole, you might ask. Well, he had tried, but whenever they scanned the Great Forest, their scanners simply went haywire, so he'd given up on that strategy.

"What's the classification of the small shuttle?" Robotnik demanded.

"Our scanners have identified it as a Lambda-class T-4a," Sleet said. "Sir... it's Lord Vader."

Robotnik muttered a profanity under his breath, but he nodded yes. "Tell him permission is granted, but first ask what in the blazes he is doing here! Has he said?"

"He simply says the Emperor has been growing highly... _concerned_ about your recent actions as ruler of this planet and he's been sent to talk to you," Sleet said.

Robotnik stood up. "Prepare a landing party for him." He activated his holo-link again, and this time, Talkin appeared. "General Talkin, Lord Vader has arrived. Come with me to the landing bay to meet him."

"As you wish, Mein Fuhrer," Talkin said, saluting him.

Robotnik closed the link and growled irritably. He _loathed_ every second he had to spend with that overgrown droid known as Vader. These visits did nothing but slow Robotnik's progress toward capturing the Freedom Fighters! The dictator seethed with rage, and sorely wished to break something in the vicinity, namely someone's neck!

However, the politician in the back of his mind saw a gilded opportunity: the SS membership list was growing smaller by the week, mainly because of suicides. Deserters were becoming common as well. Maybe, just maybe, Vader's visit would allow him to negotiate for direct military aid and provide the troops he needed!

Robotnik took several breaths, using this notion to calm his rage; he would allow this visit from Vader, just to avoid any suspicion from his old association Palpatine. He brushed down his dictator uniform and then headed out of the door to make his way to the landing dock.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sonic, Hurit and I had arrived at Robotropolis and were making our way through the city towards the torture chambers, where they were no doubt holding Cream.

"Where do you think she is?" Hurit asked.

"Well, she wouldn't be in the prison we sprung Jerry and Kat from," Sonic replied.

"And in my vision, Robotnik said Cream was to be taken to his Nazi doctors," I added. "I'm guessing she's actually inside Robotnik's main fortress."

"How far inside?" Hurit asked.

Not too far... for me, at least," said Sonic. "I've barrelled in and out of there several times before, but I never went in stealthily. Plus, I never went in long enough to rescue anybody."

_'Hey, Tom!'_ a gruff, Georgia-accented voice said in my head. _'Don't worry about gettin' past security; I'll take care of that!'_

'_Jerry?'_ I said back. _'Is that you? How did you know what I was doing?'_

Jerry gave a low growl. _'I was standing nearby when you said what you were going to do,'_ he said. _"Working on my armour, remember?'_

'_Oh, right. Sorry; I forgot you were there.'_

Then Sonic broke in on the mental conversation. _'And what exactly did you have in mind, dare I ask, Jerry?'_

I could hear Jerry suppressing a hearty laugh. _'See that huge, bombed-out mosque eight blocks to your right?'_

I looked toward the city skyline, and I saw a distant quartet of minarets poking from a caved-in dome. _'Yes...'_

_'I'm in the cathedral two blocks behind it. See the steeple?'_

I morphed my eyes into hawk's eyes and looked past the mosque; the cathedral's great stained-glass window rose above the minarets. _'I see it. How can you see us?'_

_'Three words: twenty power scope. And I could easily take you out from here, thanks to the AS50 I borrowed from the SEALs back at camp.'_

_'We can move, you know,'_ Sonic cut in.

_'And your blue camo sucks. Anyway, the friend you're looking for is directly twelve blocks ahead, in the palace. I'll snipe the door guards and get the others' attention, while you three jump into that manhole cover to your left and enter through the sewer pipes. Tails said that one leads directly into one of the chambers. Break out of that chamber, search the area, grab your friend, go back out the same way, and leg it to Knothole. Got it?'_

_'Got it, Jerry! And tell us if you need any help.'_

_'Roger that, Tom! Although with respect, I think I can handle things with this guys.'_

'_Fine, whatever.' _Sonic turned to me and Hurit. "Alright, you guys, let's go." He lifted up the manhole cover Jerry had indicated and I climbed down into the sewers below, Hurit just behind. Sonic came last, closing the cover behind us.

_'Okay, we're in the sewers now,' _I said to Jerry._ 'Which one will we need?'_

_'Head towards the palace; the pipe you need should be the fourth on your left.'_

_'Okay, thanks.' _As quietly as we could, we made our way slowly forwards, our lightsabers out in case there were any troops down here and also we needed some light.

* * *

Meanwhile, Robotnik had arrived at the landing platform and was standing sentient with Talkin at his side as the shuttle came slowly in land.

Robotnik put on the most pleasant face he could muster – which made him look less like an evil genius and more like a grumpy old man – and straightened his collar. Talkin stood silently, keeping his face perfectly neutral and emotionless.

The shuttle's wings folded as it landed on the platform. The landing gear made a loud _clunk_ when it made contact with the concrete, and hisses from vents along the shuttle's sides followed for a minute or two. Like the maw of a predator, the passenger ramp extended from under the cockpit.

_Clunk! Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!_

Robotnik recognized the tell-tale footfalls of his ally. Such heavy steps were the price of having cybernetic legs. "Welcome to Mobius, Lord Vader," he said evenly.

Darth Vader emerged from the shuttle. He was a tall and imposing man, taller than ever Robotnik, though only just. He was clad from head to toe in a black suit and armour and wore a skull-like mask over his face, covered by a helmet. A deep rasping noise emanated from him; that, Robotnik knew, was the respirator built into his armour to help him breath due to severe lung damage.

As Vader passed the troops standing to attention, a shadow of fear passed over their faces. Vader had that effect on almost anyone unfortunate enough to be near him.

Vader reached Robotnik and the two shook hands gingerly. "Lord Vader, this is a most unexpected surprise," Robotnik said. "If I'd had further notice, I would've prepared a better welcome party for you."

"You may dispense with the pleasantries, Robotnik," Vader said in his deep, baritone voice. "I'm here on behalf of the Emperor, who has been growing highly concerned about your recent actions."

"Concern?" Robotnik repeated carefully as he and Vader began to walk toward the palace. "For what reason, may I ask?"

"Reports have been coming to my master about your difficulty with the local rebels. Is this not the case?"

"I had no trouble dealing with the most popular resistances, I can assure you," Robotnik answered. "The former United States, thanks to the Acorns' disarmament policies, was virtually handed to me on a silver platter. From here, I've virtually conquered the Western Hemisphere!" Robotnik couldn't help but puff his chest out with pride.

"And the Eastern Hemisphere?"

"Erm, yes and no. The civilian population of Europe is too well-armed to directly invade, and their militaries are enormous. But, I've a massive network of puppet governments set up around the continent to keep them contained. I plan to starve them into submission."

"I see," Vader rumbled. "And the local rebels?"

Robotnik frowned. "They are the reason I have the puppets around Europe. They are no ordinary rebels, Lord Vader: they are a guerrilla military all their own, made up of commandos and Jedi."

Vader stopped and directly faced Robotnik. "The reports never said anything about Jedi. What else have you been hiding?"

Robotnik and Vader exchanged hard stares, but the former knew he could not win such a contest with a mask. "I have hidden nothing, Vader," Robotnik carefully announced. "This... _unfortunate development_ occurred a month after the last report."

"You do realize that if there are Jedi here on Mobius, they could pose a serious threat to the Empire, Robotnik," Vader said. "From what your research has shown me, Mobians have a high level of aptitude with the Force. Even a small number of Mobian Jedi can prove dangerous. Besides, I thought you'd told me that you'd taken care of the Jedi you'd once trained with after your takeover."

"I thought I had," Robotnik said. "But they slipped out of my grasp and are now hiding in a different zone. But I can assure you; I will deal with them."

"This blue hedgehog you've complaining about," Vader said, "Is he one of them now?"

"Yes, he-" Robotnik stopped and looked out toward the cityscape of Robotropolis. "He's here."

"There is quite a tremor in the Force," Vader affirmed neutrally. "My master said to provide you with assistance if it is needed. Does dealing with this hedgehog require it?"

Robotnik's pride wanted to tell Vader to buzz off, but his brain desperately wanted the extra help. Pride gave way. "Yes," he said at last. "He rarely comes alone these days; there are usually two other Jedi with him, but I think he may be bringing a bit more than that."

"Why would he?" Vader questioned.

"I think I have something he wants; or maybe it's something one of his friends wants." Robotnik didn't elaborate further, because the crack of a distant gunshot and the loud shattering of the shuttle's cockpit window interrupted him.

* * *

Roughly a kilometre away, Jerry set his sights on Talkin and pulled the trigger. The general fell, his head taken clean off. _'Tom, I got their attention, and I just dropped Talkin and a shuttle. The bastards are playing right into our hands.'_ He aimed right, settling crosshairs on a Nazi captain's chest. Jerry pulled the trigger, and the captain quite literally exploded. "Good night." He then picked up his rifle and moved a floor lower, return fire randomly but harmlessly pinging about. He set up the weapon's bipod once again, went prone, shouldered the rifle, and began to fire back.

Sonic, Hurit, and I were too far below ground to hear the battle, but we all heard Jerry's message.

_'Is Buttnik there?'_ Sonic asked.

_'Yes,'_ Jerry said. _'But there's someone else with him; this... tall, armoured guy, wearing some sort of mask. Never seen him before. I think he has a lightsaber on his belt. Maybe he's another Sith Lord.'_

_'That would explain the tremor in the Force we just felt,' _Hurit said.

_'I think I can take them both out from here. You guys just focus on rescuing your friend.'_

_'Okay, Jerry.'_

We crawled along the sewer pipe that Jerry had told us about until we reached a grid. Sonic drew his lightsaber and cut his way through. Then, he punched the grid out and it fell to the floor with a small thud. We clambered out into a small, dark, murky prison cell.

"Okay, we're inside," Hurit said. "Now, how do we find Cream?"

I didn't answer her. I could feel Cream's signature in the Force close by, but... "She's not in here," I said at last. "We'll have to break open the door and check the other cells."

Sonic perked up. "Allow me. Hurit, give me your lightsaber." Hurit handed it to Sonic; he activated both sabers and performed a violent spin-dash on the cell door, quills and blades ripping through the metal like a hot knife through cheese. When the hole in the door was large enough for us to step through, Sonic stopped himself and landed on his feet with a theatrical flourish. Hurit rolled her eyes, and all three of us left the cell to search for Cream.

* * *

Back outside, Jerry levelled his crosshairs at yet another Nazi trying to take a counter-sniping position on the landing platform. He pulled the trigger, and the man went down. He stood, picked up his rifle, and ran upstairs until he was near the very top floor of the cathedral. He once again set up the weapon, slammed a fresh magazine into it, pulled the charging handle, and peered through the scope. The platform was clear of all hostiles. Jerry grinned to himself, knowing how proud his brother and father would have been. Those fascist punks knew better than to tangle with the son of America's best sniper!

Just as he was about to look up from the scope, Jerry spotted the black armoured figure he had seen earlier step casually into view. Jerry's blood ran cold and his heart skipped when the figure turned directly toward him. _'Well done, boy,'_ a deep, rich bass said in his mind. _'You have skill, and passion to match.'_

"What the fierfek?" Jerry felt the voice – or whatever it was – poking around his mind, as a baker kneading dough. It felt terrifying, and yet somehow... _pleasurable._

_'You want revenge, don't you? I can feel it in your heart. The Dark Side is strong in you.'_

Jerry shook his head rapidly and looked away from the scope. "Get it together, Jerry," he said to himself. "You're just putting words in his mouth."

A low, feminine chuckle made Jerry whip around. "Talking to oneself isn't exactly the best way to impress a lady." A black cat with golden eyes leaned on the doorway behind him, nonchalantly tossing a lightsaber in the air. "But, I must say that you look rather dashing in that Mandalorian armour of yours. All you need now is a helmet and some paint."

"Noir!" Jerry practically spat the cat's name as he drew his father's Mando blade. "Odd to see you in a church."

Darth Noir smiled wickedly. "This church is no concern to me; it's been abandoned for years, so why should I fear coming in it?" She stepped forward and activated her lightsaber, its blood red light filling the room. "Your thoughts... betray you, Jeremy Lannigan. I sense much anger in you; a desire for revenge. But you seem afraid to use them."

"I'm not afraid of anything!" Jerry snarled. "Less of all, you, Sith witch! I'm going to make cat sushi outta you!"

Noir laughed mockingly. "You, a mere boy, make cat sushi out of me, with that silly poker of yours? You amuse me." She raised her lightsaber, her yellow eyes flashing. "Prepare to die, Mando scum!"

Surprisingly, Jerry attacked first. He charged, taking a mighty swing. Noir barely raised her blade in time to block, but the force from Jerry's attack smashed her into the wall behind her. "How's _that_ for a silly poker?" he hissed.

The Sith Lady got to her feet, a predatory gleam in her eyes. "Perhaps I was wrong." Her mouth spread into a toothy grin, furthering her predatory appearance. "Come."

"With pleasure!" Jerry attacked again, but Noir dodged the attack and attempted to strike Jerry in the back at one of the joints where it was weakest. But Jerry kicked her away before she could. Noir staggered backwards out of the doorway towards the staircase. Jerry followed.

"I'll slice you to ribbons!" he yelled, swinging his blade at Noir again. This time, Noir managed the attack; her predatory grin spread over her face, as Jerry proceeded to drive her down the stairs.

"Yes," she hissed, as Jerry swung his sword at her again. "Use your anger, Jeremy; let it fuel you! Only your hate can defeat me!"

Jerry snarled. "I'll never give in to your tricks!" he growled.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sonic, Hurit and I were checking every cell we passed for Cream. We were getting closer; I could feel it, but so far, we'd looked into 16 empty cells and found nothing.

I looked down the hall to my right. Cell after cell lined the hall, and I could see that yet another hall of cells joined that one. "At this rate, we're going to need a week to search all these cells!" Sonic groaned.

Hurit and I both nodded. We indeed needed a miracle to find Cream at that...

A flash of blue from the end of the hall caught my attention. "Huh?" I looked carefully. What appeared to be a swirling blue nebula floated there for a moment, and then zipped around the corner to the other hall.

"Tom? You okay?" Sonic asked.

"I think she's this way, but I'm not sure," I said at length. "Keep checking the cells here; I'm going to check the next hall."

Sonic and Hurit gave me an odd look, but they nodded in agreement.

I turned and ran to where I saw the blue mass. I rounded the bend, and I froze in surprise. "What the-?"

A midnight blue horned Pegasus with the nebula where her mane should have been stood in front of one door, her face screwed into a frown of concentration. "Hold on, little rabbit," she said. "You'll be free soon." Her horn glowed, and the cell door sprang open. She then turned to me and winked. With another flash of blue light, she vanished.

I approached the spot where she'd vanished; had that been Luna, the mare Sally had encountered not too long ago. Then, I looked into the cell. There, sitting on a small plank, curled up in a tiny ball, sound asleep, was Cream. Her ragged clothes hung around her and there appeared to be a few scars on her. Perched on her was the small, blue, pixie-like creature I'd seen in my vision.

I slowly approached her, hardly daring to believe it. At last, after nearly 6 years of being apart, Cream was here, right in front of me... my little sister... how she had grown... The last time I'd seen her, she was just a baby... and now, she was a little girl. But she was still as cute as ever; that would never change.

"Cream," I whispered, once I was that her side. "Cream... wake up. It's me, Thomas; your big brother. You're safe now." I gave her a little shake. Cream didn't stir. I shook her again. This time, Cream gave a small sigh and opened her eyes, as did her little friend.

"Huh?" she whispered. "What's going on? Mama, is it breakfast time?" Then, both looked up at me... and gave a cry of shock. Next moment, they had scurried away from me into the corner.

"Stay away from us!" she whimpered, her eyes wide and fearful. The little creature merely said, "Chao."

"Cream," I said, moving towards her. She looked so frightened that it broke my heart; what had those monsters put her through? "Cream, it's okay. I'm a friend. It's me, Thomas Holmes. Don't you know who I am?"

Cream merely edged away, her eyes full of tears. She began to cry softly.

My heart ached even more at seeing her like this; how would I make her trust me?

Then, I remembered; that night after my last encounter with Dirk Roswell, Cream had frightened and I had remembered a song my mother had sung to me, which I had then sung to her. Maybe singing now would sooth her fears.

_"Stop your crying, it will be all right  
Just take my hand, hold it tight"_

Cream's crying eased slightly at this. She looked at me again, her eyes wide, as if the music seemed familiar to her. I smiled and continued.

_"I will protect you from all around you,  
I will be with you, don't you cry_

_For one so small, you seem so strong  
My arms will keep you safe and warm  
This bond between us can't be broken  
I will be here, don't you cry_

_'Cause you'll be in my heart  
Yes, you'll be in my heart  
From this day on, now  
And forever more."_

Cream's crying had stopped completely now and she and her little friend were gazing up at me.

"Does that song seem familiar to you?" I asked her quietly.

"Yes," Cream whispered. "Sometimes, when I lie in bed, I hear that song in my head. Mama sometimes sang to me herself and she told me it was first sung to me by a cat named Thomas…" Her brown eyes widened; she looked back up at me and she suddenly realized. "_You're_ Thomas, aren't you?"

"Yes, it's me," I said quietly, kneeling down to her level. "It's been nearly six years, Cream. It's so wonderful to see you again!"

"Tommy!" Cream dived at me, throwing her arms around me and burying her face into my chest. "You're here! You're actually here!"

"Yes, I'm here," I said quietly, wrapping my arms tightly around Cream and putting her closer to me.

"They took my Mama from me!" Cream sobbed. "They turned her into a robot and... *sniff* made me watch it!"

"Shh, it's alright, Creamy; I'm here for you now!"

I hugged Cream tightly, gently stroking her back and nuzzling her head, while the tiny blue creature watched curiously.

A familiar Japanese-toned squeal reached our ears. "D'aww, you two look sooo _cute!"_

I turned, and surely enough Amy Rose stood in the doorway in a pose of sheer fan girlish delight. "Amy, how the blazes did you get here?"

"Remember when you told me not to follow you? IfiguredyouwerebeingsarcasticsoIfollowedyouanywayt hroughthesewerand-"

Sonic put a hand over the pink hedgehog's mouth from behind, silencing her. Amy's eyes grew wider, and even through my brother's hand I could see her grin widen six fold. "You followed us; that's all he needs to know."

"Amy," I said in exasperation, rolling my eyes.

Cream gazed at Sonic and Amy. "Who are these people, Tommy?" she asked.

"Prince Sonic Hedgehog, at your service," Sonic said, rather grandly.

Amy pulled her hand away from her mouth. "I'm Amy Rose," she said, moving towards Cream and me. "It's so good to meet you, Cream. You're so cute!" Cream looked a little frightened.

"Please, Amy, be easy with her," I said. "She's been through a terrible ordeal here; she's just lost her mother to the Roboticizer and she had to watch it happen!"

Amy visibly deflated. "Oh. I'm sorry, Cream."

Cream tried to smile, but she could not keep it up for very long. "It's okay," she said quietly as she clung to my side.

Sonic gave me a scolding look, that 'You shouldn't have said that' look I never really got used to. He remained silent, however. He then looked to Cream and smiled gently. "Don't worry, Cream. We'll get you someplace safe."

"Chao, chao!" The blue creature seemed delighted.

"Cream," I said, "who is this little guy? And why does he keep saying 'chao?'"

"This is my very special friend, Cheese," Cream said. "He's a Chao."

"A Chao?" Sonic said. "I've heard of them, but I never thought they actually existed."

"Mama found him when he was an egg," Cream went on. "I was two at the time and I can remember when he hatched. We've been inseparable ever since."

I chuckled as Cheese actually tugged at one of my ears. "He's cute!" I said and Cheese smiled in delight.

"Can we go now, please?" Sonic said. "I hate to break this up, but more guards will be coming along soon."

"Oh, of course," I said. "Come on, Cream; let's get you out of here." I stood up, lifting Cream up into my arms with me. It wasn't easy; she was a five year old girl now, not a baby. But I felt I could take her weight. Cheese fluttered down into Cream's arms. "Let's go."

And we hurried out of the cell and back down the corridor, where Hurit was keeping watch. She silently gave an OK signal and we moved out.

* * *

Back outside, Jerry had picked Noir up by the throat – using the Force, I may add – and pinned her to a wall. "How's _that_ for Mando scum?" he growled. His breaths were deep, and hard: he had never thought he could fight for so long! He picked up his blade, which had been twisted from his hand earlier in the fight, and stalked Noir's way.

Noir did not exhibit the cold, taunting behaviour she had shown earlier in the battle. She actually feared for her life, and despite her superior knowledge of the Force, she could not break the grip of raw fury that was Jerry's telekinetic chokehold. The depth of the Dark Side in Jerry, to her, rivalled that of her master, which terrified Noir even more.

Noir felt Jerry's blade trace up and down her soft underbelly, and she began to beg. "You've beaten me, Mando warrior! Don't kill me, please! Don't kill me!"

Jerry didn't seem to listen. What could only be described as a demented gleam appeared in his eyes as he spoke. "Did you know that the paint colour on a Mando's armour can tell a lot about who he is? What his mission in life is? What his past was like? I thought about painting it gold, for vengeance. Then I thought about painting it red, to mourn my mother and father. Then I thought about painting it black, for justice. What say you?"

Noir gasped as the grip on her throat tightened.

"WHAT SAY YOU?!" Jerry roared.

"G-gold," she croaked. The grip on her windpipe slackened enough for her to breathe more efficiently, but it stayed strong around the rest of her neck. It was like an invisible noose.

"Gold it is. It does go well with black..." Jerry moved Noir down the wall until they were eye-to-eye. "...which is what the colour of the pelt decorating my armour will be if I ever see your face again." He leaned into Noir's face, touching her forehead with his. "Ne shab'rudur Mando'ade." _Don't mess with Mandalorians._ He knew Noir wouldn't understand the language, but the tone made his point very clear. "Understand?"

Noir gave a meek nod, and as the grip on her throat left completely, Jerry's fist sent her into unconsciousness.

The young Mando took in a deep breath, turned his head to the ceiling, and gave a fierce cry of "OYA MANDA!" He then picked up Noir's lightsaber (which had fallen from Noir's hand just before he pinned her) and hooked it to his belt. As the adrenaline in his system subsided, Jerry remembered what he was doing before Noir had shown herself. "_Shab_," he muttered running back up the stairs to his sniper rifle.

_'Tom? Tom, talk to me!'_ I heard Jerry in my mind again.

_'Jerry? What happened? You sound exhausted!'_

_'I...' _Jerry hesitated_. 'I had an accident. One of the floors gave out beneath me and I fell through. It knocked me out for a few minutes.'_

At the time, I did not know Jerry had actually gotten into a duel with Noir; I assumed he was telling the truth_. 'Goodness! Did you take out Robotnik and the armoured guy before that happened?'_

'_Negative, Tom. They ran inside before I could get a good shot. I did get most of the SS guards on the deck, if it's any consolation.'_

Sonic huffed as he, Hurit, Amy, and I jumped down the drain that led to the main sewer line. _'That's a shame,'_ he thought to me and Jerry. _'At least we can later see the look on his face when he realizes he's been duped!'_

Just then, we heard a splashing noise other than our own. It looked like a group of people were moving through the main sewer line. Then, we heard quiet voices.

"Uh, oh," I said. "Do you think those could be Nazis?"

"I don't know," Sonic said, reaching for his lightsaber. "But we best be on our guard!"

Shifting the now sleeping Cream's weight to one arm, I drew my lightsaber from my belt, as Sonic and Hurit did the same. Amy was simply amazed at the sight of the three blue lightsabers lighting up the sewer pipe.

"Can I get one of those?" Amy asked.

"Shhhhhh!" I said hastily. "They'll hear us!"

The splashing stopped, and I heard at least two voices murmuring something I couldn't make out. For a minute or two, the only noise was Cream and Cheese's soft breathing. I held my lightsaber firm, expecting a Nazi trooper to pop up at any moment and begin shooting.

Two figures, one about Sonic's height and one the size of a regular human, finally appeared around a corner. Both had carbines trained in our direction. "Identify yourself, or we will shoot!" the shorter figure barked in a very unfamiliar accent.

_'Definitely not German or American.'_ Sonic spoke for us. "I am Prince Sonic Hedgehog, and," he said, gesturing to me, Hurit, and Amy, "these are my friends. Who might you bozos be?"

The two figures lowered their weapons, but only slightly. "We're Spetznaz, that's all you need to know, civilian," the shorter one said. He came close enough for our blades' light to show: standing before us was a hedgehog, dressed completely in black combat rig, complete with a balaclava that hid all but his eyes, nose, and mouth.

"Spetznaz, huh?" Sonic said. "You're from Russian, then, I presume?"

"Yes, we are," the hedgehog said. "And who are you with?"

"We are the Knothole Freedom Fighters," Hurit said. "We came here to save someone; this little rabbit, Cream." She gestured towards Cream as she spoke.

"And what might _you_ guys be doing here, at the centre of Buttnik's empire?" Sonic asked.

The other hedgehog paused a moment, as though he were deciding whether or not to say something. "I cannot confirm or deny that we came here to spy on the Nazis," he said at last.

The taller Spetznaz, a human, shifted uncomfortably and muttered something. The masked hedgehog turned, nodding to his partner. "Da. My budem prinimat' ikh s nami."

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I told him you can come with us," the masked hedgehog replied.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"A safe place." The Spetznaz pulled my arm. "Come along, or we're leaving you behind."

"We have a safe place we can go to," Sonic said quickly. "Knothole Village, in the Great Forest."

"Sounds like a good place," the Spetznaz hedgehog said, nodding. "Let's rendezvous with my team and move out."

* * *

Back outside, Jerry ducked and covered his head to block falling debris. A pair of matte black air speeders roared overhead, allowing their weapons to cool before coming around for another strike. Jerry bolted out the church doorway, ran across the street, and smashed through the window of an old convenience store as the speeders strafed the church with gunfire. He grunted as he picked himself off the floor, revealing dozens of crushed cans and snacks where he landed. "Note to self: beer cans make for sucky cushions."

_'Jerry, can you hear me? What's going on out here?'_ I reached to my reptilian friend.

_'Two air speeders have me pinned down in a store across from the church. I may need assistance ASAP!'_

Jerry picked up his sniper rifle and adjusted the scope to single magnification. He peered out the window, spotted one speeder coming around for another strafe of the church, aimed ahead of the cockpit, and fired. The cockpit shattered; the speeder tumbled through the air, crashed into the street, and loudly skidded to a stop thirty yards away. "Oya manda." The other speeder flew down the street to the wreck and landed. Jerry could hear a man barking something in German, but he neither understood nor cared. He then took the scope off the rifle, flipped up the iron sights, and exited the store through the rear entrance. _Serves you right, socialist pigs_ he thought bitterly.

Meanwhile, our group was climbing up out of the man cover to the sewer pipe where we'd entered earlier with the Spetznaz group. Their leader had now removed his balaclava, revealing his face. He was an olive green hedgehog of about 18, with blue eyes and black hair, face and stripes on his quills. He'd told us his name was Dmitri Ashura Abakarov. His comrade we'd seen in the sewer with him was Corporal Yassen Iccarov. He was a rather scrawny man who appeared to be in his 20s.

There were six other Spetznaz with them, all corporals and privates, and they all appeared to be about Iccarov's age. One in particular sticks out to me as I write this: an enormous, muscular human with tan skin Ashura called "Tyazhelyy." His accent was incredibly thick, and his English was rudimentary at best. He also had a PKP machine gun slung across his chest.

Tyazhelyy was the last one to exit the manhole and join the rest of us in the remains of a three-story apartment building. "Ser, vy ne dumayete, my dolzhny nayti nash vertolet i otstupit' nazad k korablyu?"

"Net, chto oblast' slishkom vrazhdebnoy letayte k nam pryamo seychas." Ashura gestured toward me as I looked for a semi-comfortable spot on the dusty floor. "Nam nuzhno nayti grazhdanskiy "Knothole" Yesli my khotim, chtoby dobrat'sya domoy v tselosti i sokhrannosti."

Tyazhelyy nodded dutifully. "Da, ser."

"What are you saying?" Sonic asked.

"We came here in a chopper," Ashura said in English. "Tyazhelyy was asking if we should go and find it, but it's too dangerous. We'll need to come with you to Knothole if we're to make it out alive."

"Definitely a good decision," Sonic agreed.

As they continued talking, Tyazhelyy looked more closely at me; or rather, he looked at Cream, who was still fast asleep in my arms. The human slung his weapon over his back as he approached. "I have two back home," he said.

I looked up. "Pardon, sir?"

"Two daughters? That's how to say, da?"

"Erm, da," I said carefully, the Russian language leaving a weird feeling on my tongue. "You have two daughters?"

"Da. Both rabbit girl age." He sighed. "I...miss them. Is that how to say?" I nodded. "Sascha and Eva." He then smiled and held out his massive hands. "Good with children. I hold, you rest, da?"

"Umm, okay," I said. I was somewhat reluctant to let go of Cream, but carrying her around, while not hard, did still weigh down on my arms. So, I gently passed Cream into Tyazhelyy's arms. He lifted her gently up; Cream stirred for a moment, but then smiled and slept on. Cheese flapped around Tyazhelyy's head and he chuckled a little.

"Little blue creature cute," he said.

"He's a Chao, I think they're called," I said. "He's Cream's little friend. But please, be gentle with them; they've been through a frightening ordeal here."

Tyazhelyy nodded. "Understood, da."

_'Tom,'_ I heard Jerry thought-speak, _'help me.'_ He sounded as if he were running as a madman. I stood and looked down the road; a single, beat-up land speeder with dark windows barrelled around a corner and came flying up the street toward us. A pair of sleek, black land speeders filled with SS personnel followed.

"Guys!" I said, drawing my lightsaber. "We have incoming Nazis in two land speeders!"

Ashura dashed out to look and then turned to his troops. "Soldaty, vkhodyashchiye natsistov! (Soldiers, incoming Nazis!)"

"Don't fire on the land speeder who looks beaten down. It's a friendly," I said, but there was little need; Jeremy had already pulled his land speeder up to us and leapt out.

* * *

Vader silently watched the action unfold via helmet cam mounted on a Nazi officer's head. The hostiles on the apartment front porch, along with the reptile, fled inside. The speeders stopped. The officer climes out first, and then ordered his men to search the building. He moved toward the door, briefly peered inside, unclipped a flash bang from his belt, and bowled it in. A sound akin to a camera shutter mixed with a jet engine was heard, and the officer rushed inside, rifle up.

Two masked humans in black clothing appeared from a stairwell to the right and fired, but missed. The officer fired back, neatly putting a bullet in each of their heads. The attackers' bodies fell down the steps to the floor.

A flash of blue appeared onscreen, followed by a pained yelp. More flashes of blue appeared as the officer whipped around, trying to figure out what was going on. What appeared to be some kind of horse briefly appeared in the frame, and the camera feed changed to static.

Behind his mask, Vader frowned, creasing his burned face. What sort of spice trip _was_ this?

Then, the camera feed fizzled and came back into focus and Vader found himself looking at a blue hedgehog with indigo hair and green eyes; he had a guitar medallion around his neck and was holding a blue lightsaber. This could be only Sonic the Hedgehog; he fitted the descriptions Robotnik had given of him.

"Is that the best you can throw at us?" he said boldly. "Boy scouts would have a better chance against us, Buttnik. Next time, give us a real challenge, why don't you?" And with that, he brought his lightsaber down on the camera and the feed went static again and then went black.

Vader's frown turned into a smirk when he heard Robotnik's infuriated roar from upstairs. No doubt he too was watching the video feed. After making sure that no one else was around, he allowed himself a very rare chuckle. He avoided this, partly because it stretched his burnt-out lungs, but mainly because of discipline. But when it came to Valefar Robotnik, Vader felt he could make an exception. After all, the two had never got on well; every meeting between them was tense and edgy. Vader could sense Robotnik's power and saw him more as a rival than an ally. So to hear him cry out in anger was actually very amusing.

And this Sonic character… he too displayed high aptitude with the Force; aptitude that probably rivalled Vader's own. Already, he was displaying great lightsaber skills and immense Force abilities, especially with his superhuman speed, which didn't even need Force Speed to be fast. Even with their speed bolstered by the Force, Jedi and Sith could never move as fast as Sonic could. And he was a Prince too, according to Robotnik and he had something of an ego, overconfident, rather reckless at times and hot-headed

_If he could be turned, he could prove highly valuable to me_ Vader thought to himself. _I must look into this young Prince further. He reminds me a lot of myself, when I was young…_

* * *

**BTW, the Russian spoken is in the Latin alphabet, so it's spoken as how it sounds.**

**Anyway see you next time.**


	6. Back in Knothole

Knothole

**A/N: The following is a response to a review left by Kegger98 and it goes to all readers as well:**

**To address your complaint about the Christian "subplot": it is a means to introduce Amy Rose to the story. One of the jobs a Christian has is telling people about Jesus, so why not have a Christian character, like Thomas, perform it, while simultaneously adding an important character to the mix?**

**To address your complaint about the Nazis: they are psychotic racists with radical devotion to an even more psychotic racist-in other words, perfect cannon fodder. That is why most shooter games and WWII films use Nazis instead of the Japanese or Italians as bad guys. Heck, even the Imperials in Star Wars are closely based on the Nazis.**

**To address your complaint about anger: while it is true that anger in itself doesn't make one evil, acting upon it malignantly or not controlling it is an evil deed.**

* * *

Outskirts of Robotropolis

Having taken care of those Nazis, we'd made our way out of the city; admittedly, we'd been much slower than when we'd come in, much to Sonic's slight annoyance. But that's my brother for you; he just loves running around in high speed.

Tyazhelyy was still carrying the sleeping Cream in his arms, with Cheese flying alongside. I wanted to hold Cream again, but she seemed content.

I turned my thoughts to Jerry, who was walking around side me. I could remember when he'd told me that he'd been knocked out and had sounded exhausted because of it. Thinking about it now, something in my mind told me he may not have been truthful. Then, I noticed something on his belt.

_'Jerry, is that a lightsaber on your belt?'_ I thought-asked.

_'Hmm?'_ Jerry's eyes flicked in my direction for a moment. _'Eeyup, it's a lightsaber. Never thought you'd see me carrying one, right?'_

_'Can I see it for a second?'_

Jerry seemed unsure. _'Um... okay. Here you go.'_ Jerry unhooked the weapon from his belt and handed it to me.

I looked the saber over. It looked much like my own lightsaber, but it was covered in strange runes that apparently doubled as grips. The saber's emitter had three wickedly sharp prongs protruding around it, and one of the prongs was plated with gold. I didn't know why, but this thing seemed very familiar...

I gripped the weapon and focused. My psychometric power awoke, and I began to see the saber's history.

_I saw the saber crystal being forged in some sort of furnace. It was giving a bright red flame and there was something eerie about it. Then, it was slowly taken out of the furnace by a man wearing gloves and using tongs. The crystal was blood red. Did that mean it was a synthetic lightsaber crystal? I'd been told this was how they were forged._

_The crystal was given to a young black cat of about 11. Her face looked worn, and there seemed to be fright in there as well. Before her sat pieces of a lightsaber; the very lightsaber I was holding now. She took the crystal and began to assemble the weapon. Once it was put together, she ignited the red blade._

_"It is done," she said quietly._

"_Very impressive, my young apprentice," said a voice that was all too familiar._

_Then, I saw flashes of her using in battle; deflecting blaster shots and bullets and cutting people down with it. Then, I saw her wielding it against Sonic in a lightsaber duel; her cutting his leg, and then, I saw myself coming out of nowhere to defend Sonic from being cut in half. That meant this was Darth Noir's lightsaber! But how had Jeremy got his hands on it?_

_Finally, I saw her facing Jerry in the very church where he'd been situated; him drawing his sword and then, duelling her and driving her down the stairs. Noir disarmed Jerry, but then, he actually picked her up by the throat with the Force!_

My concentration broke after seeing that and I snapped back to the present. Jerry had told me that he'd simply knocked out; he'd said nothing about confronting Darth Noir or choking her with the Force. I just couldn't believe it; he'd used Force Choke, a technique that had forbidden for Jedi to use, because it was a Dark Side power.

_'Jeremy,'_ I said to him. _'How... how could you?'_

Jerry did not reply. He looked at the ground, ashamed.

_'I... I'm not proud of it'_ he said finally. _'I just... got so hopped on anger that I fell victim to her taunting. Besides, she's a Sith Lady.'_

_'But that doesn't mean you should kill her... wait, _did_ you kill her?'_

_'No, I just knocked her out and left her there. But I did say I'd disembowel her if I ever saw her again.'_

_'Jerry, when I confronted her, I sensed pain and regret. There could be hope for her and killing her will only condemn to the fiery pit, dashing all hope for her.'_

_'You think I don't feel bad enough already?' _Jerry snapped._ 'I'm no Jedi, and I don't need your 'holier than thou' osik!'_

_'I wasn't saying I'm holier than you' _I said._ 'I'm just saying that you shouldn't stoop to the level of our enemies; you may not be a Jedi exactly, but you're received Jedi training and you must learn to control your anger and hate, or you'll become that which you seek to destroy. And neither Katja nor I can bear for that to happen.'_

_'Not all who use their anger and hate are Sith, nor is every 'peaceful' Force-user a Jedi. Besides, Noir won't be bothering us anytime soon after the walloping I gave her.'_

_'I wouldn't be so sure. She is a Sith and she's tougher than you think. She just probably wasn't prepared for a guy like you, so she may come after me or Katja to pay you back.'_

_'If she does that, I swear to God I'll kill her!'_

I rolled my eyes. Then, I noticed Sonic was looking at us.

"What's up with you two?"he asked.

Ashura turned his head to glance at us, but he said nothing and turned his gaze forward. "Mental debate here, bro," I answered. Sonic raised an eyebrow, but he nodded and looked away.

_'Robotnik will probably kill her anyway,'_ Jerry added. _'Hence why I took her saber.'_

_'Kill who?'_ I winced when Sonic's voice cut in.

_'Oh, erm...'_ What was I supposed to say? Should I tell him Jerry had nearly killed Darth Noir out of anger?

_'Jerry nearly killed Noir?'_ Sonic said and I realized it had been a mistake to ponder that thought; Sonic had sensed it.

Jerry looked incredibly guilty. _'Yeah. I lied about being knocked out; I actually fought Noir and won.'_

_'By yourself? How? I got my leg cut by her when I fought her.'_

_'...Vengeance is a powerful motivator.'_

_'Vengeance? Jerry, that's not the Jedi way!'_

_'But I'm not a Jedi; I'm a Mando!'_

_'Regardless, you still received Jedi training from Masters Errol and Morain and you went against it.'_

_'You know me, Sonic; I've experienced in my life. It's hard not to control my anger and hate and desire for vengeance. That big armoured guy even sensed it. I think he was in my head for a moment._

_'And like I said to Tom: I feel bad enough already and _you_ don't need to get involved in this'_

Sonic shrugged. _'Sorry I did then, Jerry.'_

_'But can you please keep this between us? Errol and Morain don't need to know this; I've already told you and Tom and that's enough for me, alright?'_

_'Alright'_ Sonic said. _'I won't tell a soul; you have my word.'_

I winked at Jerry. _'You can always count on Sonic to keep his word; I've learned that from experience.'_

Jerry nodded. _'Good, good. I've received enough scolding already.'_

After about another hour of walking through the Great Forest, we reached the hollow tree that served as a chute to Knothole.

"This leads down to the village," Sonic said to Ashura and his Spetznaz comrades. "There's a haystack at the bottom to cushion our landing. Follow me." And he dived into the chute.

"You heard the guy," I said. "Let's go." And I dived into the chute after him. I never ceased to enjoy this ride; it was so awesome. I just hoped Ashura and his guys could handle it. A few moments later, I shot out into the haystack at the bottom. As I climbed out to let Jerry, Amy, Hurit and the Spetznaz come out after me, I saw Sally, Manic, Sonia, Errol and Morain waiting for us.

"Hey Sal," I said, brushing off hay. "I suppose Errol told you what we were doing."

"He did," Sally replied, adjusting her vest. I wanted to ask how she found it, but I held my tongue. "Is Cream okay?"

I tilted my head to indicate Tyazhelyy as he climbed from the haystack with his team. "She's fine, Sal. Tyazhelyy here helped carry her."

Ashura came forward, politely offering a hand to Sally. "Privet, Missis Zhelud'. (Greetings, Miss Acorn.)"

"S kem imeyu chest' govorit'? (With who do I gave the honour of speaking?)," she answered. My fur poofed, Sonic's nose bled, and everyone else's mouths dropped when Sally's voice perfected the Russian language. She finished shaking Ashura's hand, and then noticed the others staring at her. "What? A princess can't always rely on interpreters for royal business, can she?"

"Your Russian is very beautiful," Ashura said. "I am Captain Dmitri Ashura Abakarov of the 30th Naval Spetznaz."

"And what brings you and your team here?" Sally asked.

"We were... on a mission to Robotropolis," Ashura replied. "But it was compromised, and when we met up with Sonic's little group here, we decided that, in order to return to Russia alive, we'd have to come here to Knothole."

"I see," Sally said. "Well, we have great accommodation here for you and your Spetznaz. And we can send a message for Russian forces to come and pick you up. Masters Errol and Morain can show you to the barracks"

"I'd be pleased to do so," Errol said.

"We're the masters here, Errol," Morain said. "Why should she give us orders?"

"It's not ordering, sister," Errol said. "It's requesting us and she is still the Princess."

"Bol'shoye spasibo, printsessa," Ashura said, with a small bow. (Thank you very much, Princess) He turned to his group. "Poydem, muzhchin," he said. (Come along, men.)

Tyazhelyy came up to me. "Here," he said and passed Cream back to me.

"Thanks," I said. Tyazhelyy nodded and followed the rest of his men after Errol and Morain.

"I'll go, too," Hurit said. "See you guys later." And she hurried off after her master.

At that moment, Cream stirred and opened her eyes. "Where am I?" she said blearily.

"You're in Knothole now, Cream," I said gently. "You'll be safe here with us."

Sally stepped forward. "So, you're Cream the Rabbit, are you?" she said. "Thomas has told me so much about you."

"Who are you?" Cream asked, looking rather frightened.

"I'm Princess Sally Acorn," Sally said, stroking Cream's cheek. "It's okay, little one; you're safe."

Cream shyly curled in my arms. "Thanks, I guess?" She yawned, blinking to further clear her vision. "Thomas, can you put me down? I want to walk."

"Erm, okay, if you want," I said and I gently lowered Cream down to the ground. She stood, her legs wobbling slightly as if she hadn't been using them for quite a while, which she probably hadn't. She tried to take a few steps forward, but stumbled and fell.

"Are you alright?" Sally asked hastily, helping her up.

"Chao, chao?" Cheese asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, Miss Sally," Cream said. "It's just... I'm still so shaken from the experience I had in that... terrible place."

"We understand," I said gently. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"Okay. Thank you, Thomas."

"Forgive me for interrupting," Ashura said as he walked toward us, "but remind me again how you people ended up in that sewer."

"We were there to save Cream here, like Hurit said," I replied. "She's a childhood friend and she's just a little girl; I couldn't leave her there."

"So that's it?" Ashura said, raising an eyebrow. "You were there just to save this little girl and nothing else?"

Sonic defensively moved between me and Ashura. "You got a problem with that, buddy?"

"Just seems like over expenditure of manpower," Ashura responded, a cocksure smirk eerily similar to Sonic's appearing on his face. "Unless of course, there is more to her than what you tell me."

"We just freed her from one of Robotnik's torture chambers because she is a friend, nothing more and nothing less."

"And which one of you planned such a _daring_ rescue?" Ashura asked.

I hesitated. "Um... I technically had the idea, but I never really had a specific plan in mind." I motioned to Jerry. "Jerry here talked us through the sewers while he created a diversion for the guards by providing sniper fire from the church."

Ashura frowned. "Brave, but a stupid endeavour that could have gone a lot worse than it did. Thanks to your interference, my men and I had to abort a mission that could have given us enough Intel to assassinate that Nazi mudak!"

I bowed my head. "Sorry," I said.

Sonic glared at Ashura. "Now, look here, buster! You're talking to my best friend here and if you mess with him, you mess with me!"

Jerry stepped forward. "Me too! And for your information, I managed to take out quite a few superior Nazi officers with my sniper fire, including General Omar Talkin himself!"

"And did you manage to get the Fuhrer himself?" Ashura snapped back.

"Um, no," Jerry admitted.

Ashura growled irritably. "Generals, even great ones, can eventually be replaced. You bought the world some time, but my team and I could have saved it in a few months with that mission!"

"Robotnik is more powerful than you realize, Ruskie," said Sonic. "And I think my little brother feels bad enough already."

For some reason, at the mention of 'little brother', Ashura's face fell slightly and I thought I saw a shadow of guilt and sadness pass over it. "Is this... young feline really your little brother?" he asked Sonic.

"No, but he's my brother at heart," Sonic said. "Manic and Sonia are my actual brother and sister; we're triplets."

"That's right," Manic said.

At this, Ashura turned away abruptly. "If you'll excuse me, people, I need to be with my men." And he walked away without another word.

"Hold up, buster," Sonic interrogated, zipping after Ashura. "You think you can just insult my family and walk away like that?"

I didn't pay attention to the rest of the argument, because I felt Cream hugging my leg. "Thomas? What was he talking about?"

"It doesn't matter, Cream," I said, kneeling down to her. "It's military business; you don't have to worry about it."

"But they were talking about me," Cream said. "I hate being the cause of arguments."

"Cream, just be thankful I came for you and Cheese," I said, stroking her cheek. "Who knows what might have happened to you otherwise?"

"But how did you even know we were there in the first place?" Cream asked.

I bit my lip; how was I gonna explain that I'd seen Cream's mother get roboticized in a vision? She'd never heard of the Force, so it would just confuse her. I gazed at Jerry, Manic, Sonia and Sally for answers.

Sally shrugged, Jerry looked as though he was in deep thought, and Sonia and Manic were busy watching Sonic and Ashura argue. "Gut feeling," I said at last, scratching the top of her head. "I've learned to trust it over the years."

Cream giggled, letting go of my leg. "Thanks, Thomas."

Cheese fluttered down to settle in Cream's arms. "Chao," Cheese peeped as he closed his eyes.

"Anyway, Cream, are you and Cheese alright? Do you feel ill at all? Do you need to see a doctor? Some of those cuts look infected."

"We're fine, Tommy," Cream said. "As long as we're with you, of course."

"Still, you and Cheese should get some medical aid," I said, "just to be on the safe side. I'll take you to see Dr. Lee for treatment"

"I'll come with you," Amy said at once. "I want to help Cream too."

"Are you sure, Amy?" I said. "I mean, she's rather delicate at the moment."

"I'll be gentle with her," Amy said. She didn't seem like a hyped fan girl at that moment; she just seemed like a young girl who was speaking the truth. It seemed she knew how serious Cream's condition was and it had calmed her fan girl craze. I could sense that she was speaking the truth.

"Very well, Amy," I said. "Come on." And we headed off for the medical facility.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sonic was still arguing with Ashura.

"He's just a kid, man! You think he has to have that kind of burden hanging over him?"

"Listen, _boy_, I admit I was wrong to say that, but you don't need to use that tone with me!" Ashura crossed his arms. "Didn't your parents tell you to respect your elders?"

Sonic looked crestfallen, and then angry. "Why, you son of a-!"

Before Sonic could throw a punch, Manic and Sonia grabbed Sonic's arms and held them behind his back. "I'm so sorry, Mr Abakarov," Sonia apologized. "But you hit a bit of a sensitive area with him."

"What do you mean by that?" Ashura asked. "Are your parents dead?"

Manic bowed his head. "No, worse... our parents... they... they were roboticized... when we were babies... they were the first two victims of Robotnik."

Ashura's eyes widened and his face suddenly went from black to dark grey; his arms fell limply by his sides.

"Is... that true?" he asked.

"Yes," Sonia said a tear in her eye. "We saw them, about a month ago... we had to leave them... and we spent fourteen years without them..." She sniffed. "I miss them so much..."

"We all do, sis," Sonic said sadly. Then, he glared at Ashura. "What do you have to say to that, hey?"

Ashura blinked, looking at the ground. "Forgive me, I had no idea..."

"It's fine, sir," Sonia said as she released her grip on Sonic. "I think we got off on the wrong foot. Would you like a tour around Knothole? The Russian government may take a while to respond to Sal's messages."

"That would be nice. And please, tell the Princess not to bother with calling for extraction," Ashura said. "I don't want more of my brothers put in danger on my team's account when we can perfectly manage to get home ourselves. We can figure something out, don't you worry."

"Okay," Sonic said; he seemed to have calmed down now. "Sonia, you and I can show Ashura here around Knothole; Manic, you go pass on Ashura's message to Sal."

"Sure thing, bro," Manic said. And he hurried off.

Sonic and Sonia proceeded to show Ashura around the place. Ashura kept silent through most of the tour, nodding and smiling when hearing an amusing remark or story behind a location. Manic joined them about five minutes in and provided input here and there, but Sonic did most of the talking. The tour ended at the Freedom Fighter obstacle course, which seemed to impress Ashura the most out of everything else he had seen, apart from the hospital.

"All you need is the trench filled with cow entrails, and this would be a true Spetznaz course!"

"Thanks, but no thanks," Sonic said. "The course is fine as it is. Besides, it would stink up the place."

"And I hate bad smells," Sonia added.

"Eh, when you've trained with the Spetznaz, you get used to stuff like that," Ashura said. "Anyway, thank you very much for the tour, Your Majesties. I really appreciate your accommodation offered to me and my team. Now, if you will excuse me this time, I'm going to check up on my team. Good evening." And with a small bow to them, he walked away.

"Nice guy," Manic commented.

"Hmm, is it just me or is there something familiar about Ashura?" Sonic said. "I mean, I've never seen him before, but there's something about him that seems... quite familiar."

"I hear you, bro," Manic said. "I mean, his eyes are the same colour as mine and there's something about that smirk of his. Could he be a relative?"

"How could he be?" Sonia asked. "The Oracle would have told us about him."

"I don't know..." Manic trailed off, sneaking a glance at the retreating Spetznaz. "Sonic, you think you can use that memory-reading trick you used on Thomas?"

"I don't know if I should," Sonic said. "Thomas allowed me to read his memories so as to inspire him to lift that statue. I don't like intruding people's privacy without their permission; I'm a respecter of free will. Besides, he'd feel me in his head and might resist me."

"Hmmm... Maybe while he's asleep, or better yet unconscious?" Manic suggested.

Sonia shook her head. "It wouldn't be right, Manic," she said. "What Sonic says is true; it would be invading his privacy. Maybe we should just take some DNA samples."

"Nah! That would take too long!" Manic said. "Come on; just this once! I'm sure it'll be fine."

Sonic sighed. "Okay, fine," he said. "But we'll do it when he's asleep. Otherwise, we'd be assaulting an officer. And if we get in any trouble with him, I'm holding you responsible, Manic. Understand?"

Manic nodded. "Don't sweat it, bro: everything will go just fine."

From the shadow of a distant tree, a cloaked feminine humanoid watched the exchange through a pair of binoculars. "What time do we do this?" she said, reading Sonia's lips. "0100 hours? Perfect." The figure put down her binoculars. "This should be interesting," she said to herself. "Looks like Thomas is about to have a new big brother."

* * *

Meanwhile, I'd taken Cream to the hospital and she and Cheese were now receiving treatment for their wounds. I was now walking away with Amy, who was skipping along at my side. As I walked with her, I remembered something she'd said to Sonic.

"Amy?" I said.

"Hmm?"

"You said just before I left with Sonic and Hurit that he saved you from... a guy named Metal Sonic. When was that?"

"Oh, it was some time ago," Amy replied. "It was when I first came to America. I was captured by his new creation, a robot named Metal Sonic and used as bait for Sonic. When he came to rescue me, Metal Sonic confronted him. He was designed to match Sonic's every move and Sonic only just managed to defeat him and then saved me. It was that rescue that confronted me to come here to Knothole and become a Freedom Fighter." Her eyes misted over at that.

"I see." I ruffled Amy's hair. "Well, just work hard, Amy, and try not into too much trouble. You were lucky we were there with you; otherwise, you might have been captured. Being a Freedom Fighter and a Jedi doesn't mean you should go looking for trouble. Only act when you have too, okay? I'm asking you as a friend."

"Okay, Tommy-san," Amy said, with a giggle. "I'll remember that. See you." And she headed off back to her home.

_'Thomas?' _A female voice spoke suddenly in my head. _'Thomas, can you hear me?'_

_'Queen Aleena? Is that you?'_

_'Meet me at the edge of town tonight, at 2200 hours. I have something important you must know.'_

I looked at my watch; it was now 8:35pm._ 'Very well, Your Highness. But won't anyone sense you?'_

_'Don't worry, Thomas; I can cloak my presence easily.'_

_'Okay, see you then.'_

I returned to the hut I shared with Sonic and sat down on my bed to wait, thinking. What was it that Queen Aleena wanted to tell me about? Whatever it was, it must be important; otherwise, she wouldn't ask for me to meet her face-to-face. Over the last month, I'd simply communicated with her, via telepathy. She'd asked how Sonic, Manic and Sonia were getting along and how their training was holding up. So far, she'd been impressed.

I reflected on what Jerry had told me earlier about his battle with Noir, and what I had gathered via my psychometry. Even though she hated me, the Jedi, Christians, and everything they stand for, I could not help but feel a twinge of pain for her. She probably did deserve it, but at the same time I felt like I should at least try to help her.

My brain kept telling me not to and that it was a crazy idea, but my heart told me otherwise. I closed my eyes and reached out in the Force to Noir_. 'Noir? Can you hear me?'_

A long silence hung in my mind. However, the response I received was starkly different to what I expected. _'H-hello? Wh-who's there?'_

She didn't sound mean, scary, or angry at all. She sounded like a frightened little girl. _'Thomas,'_ I thought gently. _'Jerry told me what happened, and I am sorry.'_

_'What the-? How? What? Master, what is this new devilry? Leave me alone, please!'_

_'I am not Robotnik, Noir: you are really hearing from the one and only Thomas Holmes II.'_

_Oh, it _is_ you, Holmes. What do you want, you little twerp? And why are you in my head?'_

_'I want to talk to you, Noir; pleasantly. You don't have to be afraid of me.'_

Noir softened her hostile tone._ 'I'm not, nor will I ever be afraid of you. I only fear my master.'_

_'I know. I can sense it. Your fear is not unjustified. I fear him too. Everyone does to some degree. But you don't have to be alone. Let me help you.'_

_'No one can help me.' _Noir's voice sounded miserable and my sympathy deepened a little._ 'Why would you, of all people, want to help me? I'm a Sith Lady and you're a puny Jedi.'_

_'Maybe, but one of the virtues we Jedi uphold is compassion. We care and concern for others and right now, I'm concerned for you, Noir.'_

_'Why is that? I laughed at you as you were tortured by the Nazis and I tried to kill you and your buddy Sonic.'_

_'But when I confronted you, I sensed pain and fear within you; even regret. I couldn't ignore that. There could be hope for you, Noir. Don't ignore it.'_

_'Clearly, you don't know the power of the Dark Side, Thomas Holmes. I must follow my master. It is my destiny; I cannot turn from it.'_

_'And who told you that?'_

_'...My master.'_

_'Do you trust him?'_

_Noir sighed. 'No. I know I shouldn't trust him. He's a liar, a thief, a mass murderer, and just a... a monster. But I have to be with him.'_

_'Why?' I asked, intrigued._

_'He's all I have!' Noir snapped._

_'Why? What about your parents?'_

_'I... have no parents. They died when I was a kitten. I have no family; no friends; nothing. There's nothing else for me.'_

_'You're wrong. There's always something for everyone; you just need to look for it.'_

_'What do you mean?'_

_'You have someone who knew you were in pain and wants to help you. Me.'_

_'...I... We should stop, before my master notices our conversation. Good night… Thomas.' With that, she shut off our connection._

A little smile appeared on my face. It felt good to do good, and... '_She used my first name!'_

I lay there for quite a bit before glancing at my bedside clock. It was now 9:54pm; Aleena had said to meet her on the outskirts in 10. I got up and headed out of my room, down the stairs and towards the door.

"Thomas?" Tails was there, holding a mug of cocoa. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, erm, just out for a little air, okay?"

"But it's nearly 10pm."

"I wouldn't be too long outside; I promise, T2. And save some cocoa for me, okay?"

"Okay, Tommy," Tails said, before heading upstairs.

I headed out of the door, feeling a little guilty. I still felt bad about lying to my friends, but Aleena had assured me it would pay off in the end.

I made my way towards the outskirts of the village, being as quiet as I could, so as not to attract any attention.

"Thomas." I nearly left my skin when Aleena's voice came from the blackness. "I'm in the bushes to your right. Come in."

I ducked into the bushes and there was Queen Aleena, wearing a lilac and teal robe with a hood pulled up over her head. I gave her a small bow.

"Your Highness," I said. "It's good to see you again, Aleena."

"It's good to see you too, Thomas."

"So, what is it that you need to tell me? Does it concern your godchildren by any chance?"

"Yes. It seems that one of them has come back from the dead. You've met Ashura, yes?"

"Yes, Dmitri Ashura Abakarov, he said his name was."

"Well, actually, his birth name is Ashura Nicholas Hedgehog; Prince Ashura, as a matter of fact."

I gaped at Aleena, my jaw wide drop. Ashura was Sonic's brother? How was that even possible? The Oracle had only mentioned one brother; Manic. If Sonic had had another brother, wouldn't he have said so?

But thinking about it, Ashura did look similar to Sonic, Manic and Sonia; aside from being a hedgehog as well, he had the same nose and quill style; his eyes were the same colour as Manic's and his smirk was very similar to Sonic's.

"I know it seems preposterous, Thomas," Aleena said, "but it's true. I'd recognize my eldest nephew anywhere."

I couldn't believe my ears. "Wait, if Ashura is Sonic's brother, then that would mean-"

"You have yet another big brother," Aleena finished. "Yes. That also means you have to watch him and give me updates on him in the future."

"But what did you mean when you said he'd returned from the dead?" I asked.

"Well, when Sonic, Manic and Sonia were a year old and just before Jules and Bernie were roboticized, Ashura disappeared," Aleena said. "People searched everywhere for him, but he wasn't found and was assumed dead. It seems he ran away from home and went to Russia."

"But why would he run away from his own family?" I asked.

"I don't know," Aleena said. "That's what _you_ need to find out from him, Thomas. In fact, Sonic, Manic and Sonia intend to find out too."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw them talking about it. They're gonna go see Ashura tonight at 1am while he's sleeping and read his thoughts."

"So, what should I do?"

"You can turn invisible, correct?"

"Yes, with some effort."

"Then do this for me: go back to your home, wait for Sonic to come in, cloak yourself, and follow him when he leaves."

"Okay, Aleena. I'll do that. And as soon as I'm learnt everything I need to know for you, I'll come back to you." I turned to head off back to my hut.

"Oh, and Thomas?"

I stopped. "Yes?"

Aleena gave me a warm smile. "Well done today for saving Cream. That was true loyalty and friendship you displayed."

I blushed. "Thanks. She is like my little sister after all."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sonic looked nervously at Manic and Sonia. "I still think this is a bad idea. It just seems wrong."

Manic winked. "Trust me, bro; it'll be fine. If anything goes wrong, I will take full responsibility for it. Besides, I see nothing wrong with wanting to know more about Ashura."

Sonic put a hand on Manic's shoulder. "Just give me an hour or two to meditate on this, bro. I have to make sure our little brothers are in bed anyway."

Manic checked his watch. "It's 10:45 now. You have plenty of time to meditate before we actually decide to do this. If it still bothers you by the time you're done, then I'll shut up about the issue. Deal?"

"Deal."

"I thought meditation wasn't your thing," Sonia said. "You're too active."

"I can use Moving Meditation, sis," Sonic said. "I can do it while running or working out; it helps me think. Anyway, you two can go and show Ashura and his bunch to the sleeping barracks. I'll come to you when I'm done."

"Okay, bro."

Sonic zipped home to find me walking in the front door. "What are you doing out this late, Tom?"

I jumped in surprise, hitting my head on the doorway. "Taking a little walk, bro," I said, smoothing out a knot already beginning to form on my scalp.

"Hmm, okay," Sonic said, though he looked a little suspicious. "Is Tails in bed?"

"Yeah, he is," I said. "What are you gonna do now?"

"I'm gonna do some Moving Meditation," Sonic said. "There's something me and my siblings have talked about that I need to think over."

"What were you guys talking about?" I asked.

"...We were talking about setting up another base in the forest, in case Knothole was ever discovered." He could tell that I could tell that he was lying, but I dared not call him on it.

"Have you talked to Sally about this?" I asked, playing along.

"That's why I'm going to meditate: I need to figure out how to bring up the subject to her without sounding like a moron."

I shrugged. "Well, you _do_ tend to do that when you talk to her."

Sonic ruffled my hair, grinning. "Aw, shaddup. She can't keep her hands off me."

"I think you're confusing Sally with Amy."

"Oh yeah, Amy's crazy for me."

"Say, Sonic, Amy told me about how you saved her from Metal Sonic not too long ago."

"Ah yes! I remember that confrontation, Tommy. Trust me, it was an awesome fight; awesome, but difficult! Metal Sonic had been designed to match my every move. I can tell you; it was no easy feat taking him out; I had really had my work cut out for me. But I got him in the end."

"And how exactly did you do that? Amy didn't say."

"By using my Super Peel-Out; I went really supersonic. Metal me never stood a chance. He was scrap-metal in moments."

My eyes widened. "Amazing, Sonic!"

"It's what I do best," Sonic said smugly, smoothing back his hair. "But I never thought I'd see Amy Rose again; she's just crazy for me! It was difficult just getting her to stop trying to crush my ribs after I saved her. I really think she needs some help."

"Well, now that she's a Freedom Fighter and Jedi-in-training, I think that may tone down her fan girl craze."

"Unless she magically becomes mature enough to understand I'm not interested, I doubt it." Sonic shook his head. "Anyway, you should probably get to bed. I'm going do some sit-ups and then do a couple laps around Knothole."

"Okay, bro. Night." And I headed upstairs to my room. However, I didn't change into my pyjamas, instead keeping my clothes on as I got into bed and waited.


	7. Family love and attack preparations

Family love and preparations for attack

**A/N: If this chapter is confusing, especially all the Star Wars content, I apologize but it is a lead-up to the next story**

* * *

Darth Vader observed the black feline sleeping on the hospital bed. According to Robotnik, her name was Noir, and upon asking the medical staff and a few guards, she was Robotnik's protégé. Vader sensed that her connection to the Force was deep, possibly deeper than that of her teacher. _'Such potential, if only she were not led by such a hare-brained lunatic.'_

Robotnik's boots clicked down the stairwell behind Vader. Vader did not turn around. "How is she?" Robotnik asked a nearby medic droid, standing next to Vader to observe Noir.

"She's stable, sir, but she won't be able to continue her exercise regimen for a few weeks. I advise bed rest and nutrient-rich meals until she can function again."

Robotnik, rather than crush the droid with the Force or tell it to buzz off, silently nodded. "Understood, Medic 3."

Vader gave Robotnik a curious sideways glance. "She is important to you?" he said after a while.

"Yes," Robotnik answered. "She is like the daughter I never wanted. I originally just wanted her connection to the Force as another weapon in my arsenal, but..."

"You have developed some feelings for her," Vader finished. _'I know how _that_ feels,' _he mentally added.

Robotnik glared at his rival, but said nothing. He looked back to Noir, who continued to peacefully sleep. "Those blasted Freedom Fighters will pay for this," he muttered.

"It is indeed clear you need more than just advanced technology to handle these rebels. According to my master, any remaining Jedi should be dealt with at all costs." Vader turned to look directly at Robotnik. "What is your price?"

Robotnik tapped his chin in thought. "Hmmm... What do you have?"

"I have a battalion of my best men in orbit as of now, and an assortment of assault craft."

"...Show me, Lord Vader."

"Very well, then. I will take you to my Star Destroyer and show you."

"But one of the Freedom Fighters took out your shuttle."

"I've already sent for another, Robotnik. It will be here shortly. Follow me."

"Very well." Robotnik turned to one of the guards. "Send for Snively and Grimer, Sleet and Dingo; and get Decoe and Bocoe in also. They should see this as well."

"Yes, Mein Fuhrer."

As Vader clonked up the stairwell to the palace's upper floor, he contemplated the conversation Noir had been having through the Force. The girl seemed to have a connection with one of those "Freedom Fighters." As much as Vader wished to see Robotnik explode with rage if he found out, Vader decided now was not the time to exacerbate a simple rivalry when there were Jedi to be eliminated.

Robotnik and Vader arrived at the landing bay to find the new shuttle waiting for them. Then, his evil minions that he'd sent for came up and saluted.

"You sent for us, Mein Fuhrer," Decoe said.

"Ah yes. There's something Lord Vader wishes to show us. Follow us."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Knothole

I got out of my bed when my clock read 12:45 and went to the door to listen. I didn't have to wait long; soon, I heard quiet footsteps outside. It had to be Sonic. I guessed now was the time.

I took a deep breath and called upon the Force to cloak my body. In case you're wondering how it works, it involves the distortion of light around my body, rather like the Invisible Woman from Fantastic Four. However, at the time, this technique did call for quite some effort and concentration and even now, it still does.

After about a minute, I became fully cloaked from sight. I opened my bedroom door a crack, and heard Sonic going out the front door. Feeling a little giddy at the fact I was invisible, I tiptoed to the top of the stairs that led to the living room, jumped off the top step, performed a front flip, and used the Force to quiet my landing at the bottom. A stupid grin plastered itself to my face, and it refused to leave even as I left the house.

I followed Sonic at a distance, hoping he wouldn't sense me. Soon, he met up with Manic and Sonia, who were waiting for him near the barracks where Ashura and his team were staying for the night. I stood about 10 metres, using my enhanced hearing to listen in.

"Well?" Manic asked simply.

"I've decided to go through with it," Sonic replied. "I suppose there would be no harm in wanting to find out more from Ashura. He does seem familiar and he seemed troubled when you mentioned our parents' fate, sis; if he is a Royal Hedgehog, why is he not with us?"

"Just don't be too hard on him," Sonia said. "I'm sure he'll have a good reason."

"He'd better," Sonic said.

Sonic went to open the barracks door, but he motioned for Manic and Sonia to stay outside. "I'm going in alone. It'll be much quieter and quicker." With that, he went inside. I used Force Speed to slip through the door as it closed behind him, and I followed Sonic down the stairs to the main sleep hall.

The Spetznaz were all fast asleep and snoring loudly. Some were muttering in their sleep in Russian, none of which I understood. Ashura, on the other hand, appeared to be sleeping quietly, his hands folded across his chest and breathing very slowly. Sonic approached him quietly.

Ashura suddenly rolled over in his sleep and growled something. Sonic froze, waited to see if Ashura would wake up, and then kept creeping to Ashura's bedside. Upon reaching the sleeping Spetznaz, Sonic mumbled a quick prayer and gently laid a hand on Ashura's forehead.

Sonic took a deep breath and reached through the Force into Ashura's mind, delving deeply into his memories, travelling back, until he saw...

_A very young Ashura of about 3 was sitting at the table with two other hedgehogs; undoubtedly, his parents. The father had cobalt blue fur, lilac eyes and brown hair; he was wearing a red and blue robe and wore a golden crown on his head. His wife had purple fur, emerald green eyes exactly like Sonic's, and blond hair; she wore a light blue satin robe and was also wearing a crown. Her belly seemed to be bulging outward and she was rubbing it smoothly._

_"Ashura, my boy," King Jules Hedgehog said, "we apologize for keeping this from you for a while, but we wanted to be a surprise for you."_

_"What is it, Pa?" Ashura asked._

_"Do you want to know why my belly is like this?" Queen Bernadette said._

_"Yes._

_"Well, I'm pregnant, Ash; I'm gonna have babies. You're going to be a big brother."_

_Ashura grinned. "You mean there's gonna be another me?"_

_"Not exactly. There's going to be three different kids like you."_

_"All brothers?"_

_"Two brothers and a little sister."_

_Ashura's eyes widened. "Triplets? That sounds wonderful, but when they're born, will I be able to handle them?"_

_"Son, handling you lot falls to me and your mother," Jules said gently. "All we ask is that you be a loving big brother and play with them."_

_"Okay, Pa."_

_Then, the scene changed. Ashura was now standing with what was unmistakably Uncle Chuck and Aleena, watching as his mother gave birth to his younger siblings._

_Sonic paid little attention to the birth itself, but kept his focus narrowly on Ashura and his reactions: the little green hedgehog seemed less enthusiastic than before, even pained, but Sonic chalked that up to the volume of his mother's screaming. Passing three children in close succession _hurt._ However, when the physician wrapped the first child-a little ball of blue fuzz that had to be Sonic-in a blanket and gave the bundle to Uncle Chuck, Ashura's previous grin returned. Ashura held up his arms to hold Sonic, and after showing the young hedgehog how to hold a new-born, Uncle Chuck obliged._

_Ashura gently and lovingly nuzzled the new-born Sonic, who by then was fast asleep. "I'm gonna be the biggest, bestest brother ever, Ogilvy. I promise."_

_The grown Sonic looking at this memory choked, and almost lost his focus. He now knew why the Jedi emphasized emotional control so much, even if his master had also told him that he should follow his heart. He regained focus, and kept going through Ashura's mind._

_The next memory was Ashura playing with Sonic and Sonia. Ashura had his hands over his eyes._

_"Peek-a-boo!" he said playfully, removing his hands and then covering his eyes with them again. Sonic and Sonia giggled, Sonia clapping her hands in joy. "I'm here, now I'm not! Here, then not!" Then, he laughed too and tickled his baby brother and sister. "You wike that, don't you, Ogilvy, Victoria? You wike that so very much! Now, where is wittle Manuel? He's missing all the fun!"_

_Ashura looked around for Manic or 'Manuel' as he was called then, and saw him just about to poke his finger in a plug socket!_

_"Manuel, no!" Ashura rushed over to grab his baby brother before he got himself electrocuted._

_Unfortunately for little Ashura, an apparently exhausted King Jules walked into the room and nearly tripped over Sonic. "In the name of-!" The king scooped Sonic and Sonia off the ground, glaring at Ashura. He noticed Ashura and Manic's proximity to the power socket, and he nearly lost it. "Prince Ashura Nicholas Hedgehog!" he barked. "What is the meaning of this?"_

_Sonic sensed the sterile odour of grain alcohol on Jules's breath: apparently, he was drunk in this memory._

_"Dad, Manuel almost got his finger caught in a plug, but I saved him," Ashura said, backing away defensively._

_"And why was he near that plug in the first place?" Jules asked sternly, swaying slightly where he stood. "Were you not watching him again?"_

_"I was playing peek-a-boo with Ogilvy and Victoria, while Manuel was having a crawl around; you know how he is."_

_"Ashura, it's your responsibility as the eldest to watch over your siblings! Letting Manuel crawl around without supervision is very, very irresponsible; he could have been killed!"_

_"But he wasn't killed, Dad."_

_"That's not the point, son! How can you succeed me as king when you can't even watch over all of our siblings?!"_

_At this moment, all three triplets began to cry; apparently, their father's loud talking had scared them. Sonic covered his ears. _Was I really that loud?_ he spoke_

_"What's going on here?" Bernadette had come hurrying in at the sound of her babies crying._

_Jules roughly handed Sonia and Sonic to his wife, and before she could protest, grabbed Ashura by the scruff of his neck and bodily lifted him off the ground. "This will take one second, Bernadette."_

_Sonic expected his father was going to hand out a spank or six, but he gaped in horror when Jules balled his free hand and delivered a solid right hook to Ashura's face. His ears folded tightly against his head to block out the collective scream of his younger self, his mother, and siblings. "Enough!" he choked, and the memory gave way to another one: this time, Ashura sat on a bed, crying into a pillow. Bandages covered the left side of his face, and his nose seemed a little more crooked than it previously was. _

_There was a knock at Ashura's bedroom door. "Come in," the traumatized prince croaked. Jules quietly ambled in, intense shame on his face. Ashura looked murderous as the king sat down beside him._

_"I don't blame you that you hate me, son," Jules said. "In fact, you probably should."_

_"I do." Ashura looked away from his now-sober father, but murder stayed in his eyes. "Get out. _Now!"

_Jules nodded, wisely getting up and making for the door. "I will never touch alcohol again, for your siblings' sake. I'm so sorry, son."_

_"No, you're not," Ashura whispered, fixing his gaze back on Jules. "Not yet."_

_Jules bowed his head, tears in his own eyes as he closed the door behind him._

_Sonic was in utter shock. His father had hurt Ashura, in a drunken state! He was beginning to see why Ashura had run away from home; he'd only been about three or four years old when that had happened._

_Then, the door opened again. This time, Bernadette entered._

_"Ashura? Sweetie, are you okay?"_

_Ashura looked less contemptuous at the sight of his mother. Bernadette sat down on the bed next to him and Ashura immediately sat up and hugged her, crying into her chest. She held him close, stroking his back and quietly whispering comforts in his ear._

_"I hate him!" Ashura sobbed, his grip tightening on his mother's garment. "I hate him! I hate him! I'm gonna kill him, and then kill me, so I can watch him rot with the devil!" Bernadette wanted to chide her son for wishing that on his own father, but could she blame him? She decided to say nothing, and just let her son cry it out of his system._

_Sonic heard the faint thud of Jules's backside on the floor outside the door, and short, hiccupping sobs that sounded like the crying of a child about Sonic's age. Another set of sobs joined in; Sonic realized they were his own._

_Sonic tried to stifle his sobs; he was better than this. He didn't cry; it affected his strong image. '_Oh, who cares about that?'_ he thought. _'This is your family we're talking about.'_ He turned away from the memory to allow the tears to flow for a few moments before he managed to regain control over himself and resolved not to tell this to anyone. It wasn't that he was ashamed of crying; he just liked his friends to think he was strong, so as to inspire them to be strong as well._

_He decided to move on from here. The memory changed; Ashura was now sitting in what appeared to be the baggage compartment of an aeroplane. His legs were drawn up to his chin and he was rocking slowly back and forth._

_Ashura looked at something on his neck and Sonic noticed for the first time that his brother was wearing a medallion similar to those he, Manic and Sonia wore. This one was in the form of a saxophone._

_Ashura tore it off his neck and attempted to throw it away, but couldn't seem to bring himself to do it. He gazed at the medallion for a few moments and then stuffed it in his pocket._

_"Mum, Ogilvy, Victoria, Manuel... I'm so sorry," he said quietly. "But I can't stay with you any longer; I don't belong with you. I belong elsewhere; just... be safe and don't ever forget me..."_

_The memories flashed forward once again, and Sonic found a five-year old Ashura wrapped in a thin coat, tipping over an ice-capped trash can. Sonic looked around to get an idea of where Ashura was, and he found himself looking at the Kremlin, the Russian government's seat of power._

_That meant Ashura was in Moscow, Russia. That would explain the snow and frost everywhere. Ashura was apparently scavenging for food in the trash can. He looked very thin, hungry and miserable._

_Ashura pulled out an old pizza box; there was one slice still inside. Ashura took a bite of it and then spat it out in disgust. "I can never get quality food from these bins," he moaned, throwing the box down. "I have to steal good food and I hate doing that." He sat down in the snow, shivering. "What I wouldn't give for a roof over my head right about now? But no one will take me in."_

_Ashura looked down the street, and his eyes lit up. Sonic followed his gaze and spotted a building that looked like a cafe. But Sonic realized that the window filled with fresh pastries wasn't what caught Ashura's attention: a pair of men in digital-camo military dress and red berets, chatting over a coffee. Sonic noted the distinctive bulge of a thick wallet in the elder soldier's back pocket, and realized what his brother had been thinking._

_Ashura quietly sneaked towards the two men through the snow and into the cafe, hoping that the men were too busy talking to notice him. As soon as he was behind the elder man, he carefully reached out for the wallet and began to ease it out of the back pocket. However, at that moment, the man reached for his wallet and his hand rested on Ashura's. He turned around fast and saw the green and black hedgehog; Ashura went pale grey._

_"Umm, hi," he said nervously._

_"Chto ty delayesh's moim koshelek?"__ the man asked in Russian. (What are you doing with my wallet?)_

_Ashura looked puzzled. Obviously, he didn't understand Russian._

_"Chto ty delayesh' s moim koshelek?"__ the man asked again._

_"I... I'm sorry, sir," Ashura said. "I don't understand you."_

_The man continued to look at Ashura for a moment, and then spoke in English: "What are you doing here, kid? Were you trying to take my wallet?"_

_Ashura backed away, looking ashamed. "I'm really sorry, sir," he said. "It's just that... I'm hungry and I've been living on the street for a long time."_

The memory suddenly cut off, and Sonic became aware of his physical surroundings again. It was still pitch black in the barracks, but when Sonic looked at the clock he realized dawn was starting to break. He removed his hand from Ashura's forehead and bolted out the door when Ashura began to stir. I quietly followed.

* * *

Executor, Mobius' orbit

Robotnik's gaze wandered from helmet to helmet of the mass of white-armoured soldiers standing in _Executor's_ hangar bay. They all stood at perfect attention, blaster rifles clutched to their chest plates. "Impressive," Robotnik commented, walking in step with Vader.

Vader stopped and turned up the volume of his vocabulator with a few blinks. "Buckets off," he boomed. The ragged snap-hiss of breaking helmet seals told Robotnik Vader's men did not expect that order.

Sleet, Dingo, and even Robotnik gasped when they saw the faces behind the helmets. "They're all... they're all..."

Vader lowered his volume to normal. "Clones." He was right: each soldier's face, apart from ages, scars, and haircuts, was exactly the same. The same light brown skin; the same dutiful frowns; the same large, dark eyes; and the same narrow noses.

Robotnik was grudgingly impressed; for a long time, he'd been trying to perfect the art of cloning, but even with all his science, he had never been able to create a clone that did more than just drool and look stupid.

"Where did they all come from, Lord Vader?" he asked.

"The original clone army was created on Kamino," Vader replied. "Woven from the DNA of a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. They were the Republic's Grand Army during the Clone Wars. During the war, new cloning facilities were built on Coruscant and Centax 2 under my master's orders. These were the clones that were helped issue Order 66 when the Jedi's plot was uncovered."

Vader motioned to a trooper that looked to be about sixty, with short bleach blond hair, a dark blue pauldron on his shoulder, and a thick skirt-like garment around his legs. "Commander Rex, show our guests to the starboard vehicle pool, and contact General Veers to come down there for an artillery demonstration."

Rex saluted. "Yes, sir." He motioned to Robotnik and his minions. "Come with me, then."

Robotnik didn't like being told what to do by a trooper, but he knew better than to make a fuss about it.

"And where will you be, Lord Vader?" Robotnik asked.

"I shall be on the lower bridge, contacting my master." With the swirl of his black cloak, Vader turned and strode through the sea of white armour to an elevator terminal across the room.

Robotnik turned back to Rex. "Lead the way, then." Rex turned on his heels and replaced his helmet. "As you were, men," he ordered to his fellow troopers. The ranks began to disperse to various parts of the hangar, through side doors, and through elevator terminals, while a few stayed at Rex's side. Rex purposefully strode to a set of blast doors and tapped a nearby keypad. The doors slid open, and the odd-looking cordon proceeded through.

Safe inside his helmet, Rex switched off his vocabulator and went to a private comm. channel. "N-11, you better hurry up getting Ahsoka to the ship, or none of us is going to make it off this crate alive."

"I'm a civilian now, _ner vod_, so call me by name," a nearly identical voice answered. "And I'm on my way to collect her right now. I just need to give Vader the transfer message from Palpatine, and she'll be in our crate in no time. Where the _shab_ are _you?_"

"Just giving the local_ dini'la_ puppet the grand tour," Rex answered. "I won't be long."

"_Kandosii._ See you at Hangar 94."

Rex smiled. "Copy that," he said, mimicking the regular troopers.

To Robotnik, Rex was the silent, obedient tour guide helping an old man finding his way around a new place. Neither the dictator nor Vader had any idea of the exchange going on inside the privacy of Rex's helmet comm.

Soon, they came to a pair of blast doors, which slid back to reveal the vehicle pool. Robotnik's black and red eyes widened at the sight before him.

A mechanical behemoth towered fifty feet into the air. It looked like a robotic camel with a short, thick neck, heavy armour, and blasters mounted on its head. Robotnik looked to his right: four more copies of the monstrosity stood nearby in a neat row, flanked by lower-slung machines that looked like heavily armed and armoured beetles. Robotnik looked to his left and saw eighteen similar machines that appeared to be box turrets mounted on two legs.

"Crikey, sir," Sleet said. "Lord Vader certainly has a massive armed force at his disposal."

"Yeah, those... big... camel-like... walking things," Dingo said confusedly.

"They're called All Terrain Armoured Transports," Rex said. "Or AT-ATs for short."

"And what are those smaller transports?" Bocoe asked.

"The tanks are All Terrain Tactical Enforcers, or AT-TEs," Rex replied. "And the one with six legs are All Terrain Scout Troopers, AT-STs."

"Incredible," Robotnik said. "Palpatine always told me his forces were immense, but he never actually showed them. Those Freedom Fighters don't stand a chance!"

Rex almost felt sorry for the poor _di'kute_ that would be seeing the business end of those machines. The AT-AT directly in front of him suddenly turned on with a loud _whir-clachunk_, causing all but Rex to jump. The machine's head turned down at them, the single red viewport eyeing them like a predator waiting to pounce. "Hello, Rex," a younger, upper-crust voice greeted from the speaker mounted between the transport's chin cannons. "Come to give Blizzard One an inspection?"

"No, sir, General Veers," Rex answered. "But Lord Vader believes a demonstration to our guests is in order."

"I see," the general answered. "Bring out that defective scout transport in the corner. I'll show our houseguests what Blizzard can do."

Rex took off his helmet and whistled to get the attention of a nearby mechanic. "Oi, you! Get the bad chicken walker out to the range!" The mechanic saluted, ran to the troop of AT-STs, and tapped a keypad on a nearby wall. A titanic electromagnet descended from the ceiling, grabbed a particularly beat-up AT-ST, and placed it on what appeared to be a cargo elevator. The elevator lowered, taking the vehicle to the deck below.

"Come, stand under Blizzard," said Veers. "The range is just below us." Rex and his guests obeyed, and the floor under Blizzard began to sink to the deck beneath.

Soon, the elevator stopped and Robotnik and his minions found themselves facing a long hallway with blank walls and the busted-up AT-ST sitting at the far end.

"Okay, then," Veers said from the AT-AT's head. "Watch and learn, Fuhrer Robotnik."

Without warning, Blizzard's head locked into place and spat two blasts of energy at the AT-ST with a deafening _crack-koom._ An equally loud explosion emitted from the smaller transport, causing all outside Blizzard to duck behind Blizzard's massive feet. "Satisfied?" Veers said.

Rex, Robotnik, and Robotnik's cronies peered from cover. The only trace of the AT-ST left was a pair of metal legs blown twenty meters away from each other.

"Amazing, General," Snively said.

"Incredible," Grimer whispered in his falsetto voice. "Just one shot could blow those pathetic animals to Kingdom Come."

"Indeed they could, Grimer," Robotnik said, grinning evilly, his red eyes glowing. "Commander Rex; General Veers; that is all the demonstration I need. Tell Lord Vader I am satisfied."

* * *

Darth Vader slightly resented the fact that the_ Executor_ was so large because he periodically got lost in the network of halls and hangars that honeycombed the ship's interior. This was one of those times: he knew he was two floors below his hyperbaric chamber room, but he could find no elevators or stairs that could easily take him there. "Fierfek, I should have taken the last one on the right." It was rare for Vader to use such terse language, but his lack of exploration of his own ship was coming back to bite his _shebs_ as some of the commando squads were fond of saying. His helmet comm. tweeted, signalling an incoming message. "Yes?"

"Robotnik is quite taken with our artillery pieces, sir," Rex's voice said. "The man looks like a child who found out he inherited a candy store from his dead grandfather."

Vader nodded. "Very good, Commander. Tell him I will be along shortly, after I have spoken with the Emperor."

"Yes, Lord Vader," Rex said and terminated the link.

At last, Vader reached his chamber room. He strode to the holoprojection chamber, pressed a few buttons on the keypad and then knelt down, as his master, Emperor Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious, appeared before him. He was an elderly man in his eighties, with pale grey, deformed skin, yellow eyes and wearing a black robe with a hood.

"Yes, Lord Vader, what is it?"

"It appears your colleague Robotnik has unearthed a nest of Jedi while trying to eliminate the planet side resistances."

Palpatine visibly stiffened. "Why was I not informed of this sooner?"

"Apparently, this was only a recent development, Master. Most of the Jedi are still Padawans, with the exception of two Masters and a handful of Knights."

Palpatine relaxed slightly, an eager smile slowly creeping over his features. "I could always use more agents for Army Intel. Capture as many Padawans as possible, Lord Vader, and kill any Masters or Knights you come across."

"Yes, my master."

"Good," Palpatine said. "And has Robotnik requested any direct assistance from you?"

"He has, Master, and he seemed to enjoy General Veers's demonstration of the Empire's ground forces."

"He showed Robotnik Blizzard, didn't he?" Palpatine chuckled. "I figured he would have been impressed. Anyway, give him whatever he requires to crush the Jedi and the other rebels: I do _not_ wish the Alliance to gather yet another system to their cause."

"It shall be done, my Master." Vader bowed deeply, and the hologram faded out.

* * *

Ordo Skirata rounded a corner and found himself looking at his destination: the _Executor's_ main detention centre. The control room wasn't very spacious, about twenty feet in diameter, and four halls branched off it like the spokes of a wheel. The polished metal walls and sterile scent brought back memories of his childhood in Tipoca City, which only put him further on edge. He was certain the meat-can disguise would fool the officer working the control room desk, but getting off without Tall, Dark, and Saber Jockey, noticing felt like a whole other realm of difficultly.

Tucking away anxieties, Ordo strode toward the detention centre's front desk and saluted to the officer sitting at it. "Sir, Emperor Palpatine has requested that Prisoner five-four-oh-eight be transferred to Imperial City." He handed the officer a data chip. "He says she would be of better use elsewhere."

The poor lieutenant jumped from his seat, swiped the key cards off his desk, and beckoned for Ordo to follow, not even bothering to look at the data chip's contents. "This way, soldier," he said, his tone confirming he was trying not to have a panic attack. Ordo briefly wondered if the guy acted this way because he found out the Emperor was a Sith like Vader, but Ordo resisted the urge to ask.

They reached the anointed cell and the lieutenant swiped the appropriate key card in the slot. The door slid upwards and Ordo entered. It was a large and pretty spacious cell with a bathroom and a comfortable bed. On the bed was a young Togruta woman in her mid-to-late 30s, with orange skin, white skin markings and long lekku that hung down to her torso.

At first, Ordo believed she was asleep, but then, she spoke.

"Tell me, soldier, why didn't Skyguy come to see me himself? He hasn't visited me in years."

"Lord Vader has more pressing matters at hand, Miss Tano," said Ordo. "He has requested you be transferred to his manor on Coruscant."

The Togruta sat up slowly, turning to face Ordo. "I haven't heard _that _word in a while," she said carefully. "I've only heard it called 'Imperial City' for the past twenty years." She paused. "Do you have a name?"

"My number is TK-three-two-two-"

"Your _name_, not your number. I know you have one." She looked at him expectantly.

Ordo found it odd that this former Jedi wasn't using the Force on him when he was alone and the door behind him was wide open. Perhaps she'd tried that before and ran into some hidden security droid. "My name is Fi, ma'am," he lied. He held up a pair of binders. "I need you to wear these; safety precautions and all that _osik_."

Tano slid off the bed, turned around, and put her hands behind her back. As Ordo locked the cuffs into place, she glanced at him. "By the way, I've fought enough Death Watch to know Mando'a when I hear it."

Ordo blinked rapidly to activate his modified helmet's bug scanners. Finding none, he planted Tano's face into the mattress. "If you say one more thing and blow this op, _jetii_, I'll feed your remains to my brother's strill," he hissed into her ear. "Got it?" Tano nodded.

"Very well, then. Come with me." Ordo lifted Tano from the mattress and marched her out of the cell.

* * *

Knothole

It was morning and I was heading downstairs for breakfast. After Sonic and I had left Ashura, Sonic had re-joined Manic and Sonia and recounted everything he'd seen in Ashura's memories, with me listening in. They now knew for sure that Ashura was indeed their brother and they knew why he'd left them. When Sonic had recounted his father Jules punching Ashura across the face, I'd actually gasped in shock, but thankfully, Sonia had gasped at exactly the same time, so mine went unnoticed.

I'd dashed back to our house and back into my room and just before going to sleep, I'd told Aleena, via telepathy, everything Sonic had said and she thanked me before I went off to sleep.

I had a feeling that Sonic was going to tell me himself what he'd said, so I knew I'd have to pretend to be surprised; it wouldn't be easy.

As I strode carefully down the stairs, I noticed that Sonic was asleep on the couch with both Manic and Sonia on top of him. They all snored quietly, although Sonic gave an occasional snort that sounded like a feral hog. I could hear Jerry and Katja in the kitchen, trying their best to quietly fry eggs for everyone in the house.

"Morning, guys," I said quietly, as I entered the kitchen. "You sleep well?"

Katja tipped fried eggs onto her plate. "Si, Tommy. Jerry was just telling me about your little rescue mission yesterday. I must say, you did very well, rescuing Cream. Where is she right now?"

"She's in the hospital," I replied as I sat down at the table. "I was thinking of heading down there to see her. You can come with me if you like."

"¡Oh, sí, muy bueno!" Katja said. "I'd love to come and see Cream."

Very well then," I said, as Katja set a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me and I got ready to eat. "I'll take you to see her as soon as we've had breakfast. But what about Sonic, Sonia and Manic?"

"Oh, just leave them to sleep," Jerry said. "They seem okay and they can fix themselves breakfast. But I wonder why they're so sleepy; they're usually up earlier than this, especially Sonic."

Then, there was a knock at the door.

I had a pretty good idea of who was knocking. "Come in," Jerry called. "If y'all missed breakfast, you picked the perfect time to drop by."

The door opened, and there Ashura stood. He appeared calm, with a single eyebrow cocked in a permanent expression of mild disdain. But, his impression in the Force told a different story: vortices of red passions and hates spun through a pool of black sorrow, but it was all held together by sharp, stark white intelligence. "Good morning," he said politely. "Is this the residence of Sonic and his siblings?"

"Why, yes, Captain," I said.

"May I see them?"

"Sure." I went into the living room and leaned in towards the sleeping hedgehogs. "Sonic, Manic, Sonia? Wake up. Rise and shine, sleepyheads."

Sonic gave a grunting snore, then jerked awake, while Manic and Sonia blinked blearily. "Tommy, why did you wake me? I was having a lovely dream."

"Ashura's here to see you guys," I said. "He wants to talk to you."

Ashura stepped forward. "I trust you slept well, Ogilvy, Victoria, Manuel," he said.

The three hedgehogs seemed puzzled. "Those aren't our names," Manic said.

"Wait a minute," Sonia said, "Colin told us that our parents named us when we were born."

Ashura nodded; he was looking primarily at Sonic. "So, not only are you super-fast, but you can also read minds. Impressive, Ogilvy; very impressive indeed."

Sonic's reply caught in his throat. Either Ashura was also Force-sensitive, or he was just dangerously perceptive. Sonic assumed the latter. "Ashura, I'm-" He was cut short when Ashura bodily picked him up and gave him a crushing hug. "...sorry!" he squeaked.

"I thought you were dead, you little fuzz ball," Ashura whispered.

Sonic was astonished, as were I and everyone else in the room.

"So… you are our brother, then?" Sonic asked, barely able to get the words because of the hug.

"Yes, Ogilvy," Ashura said breathlessly, releasing his brother. "Man, look at how you've grown, little brother; you're so handsome." He turned to Sonia and Manic. "And Victoria, Manuel; you've grown so well also. Oh, Mum and Dad would be so... proud." The smile faded from his face. "Oh yeah; they were roboticized, weren't they?"

Sonic nodded gravely. "Yeah..." He returned the hug, and Sonia and Manic joined in. "But you're not, and that's all that matters now."

Jerry sniffled, his eyes suddenly glassy. _"An vode, tug'yc tome,"_ he said. "I wish Dad and Jimmy were here."

"Ashura, why did you leave us when we were babies?" Sonia asked.

"Well, after what Dad did to me, I felt I didn't belong with the Royal Hedgehogs anymore; so I thought I'd seek my fortune elsewhere. But believe me, it wasn't easy leaving you three or our mum; I loved you guys so much."

"I saw in your memories that when you were four, Dad hit you in a drunken outburst," Sonic said. "I'm really sorry he did that to you, Ashura; but he didn't really mean to."

"Do you still hate him?" Manic asked.

"No," Ashura said quietly. "Not anymore; I used to though. That man who took me in; his name was Ivan Abakarov, former Spetznaz and he was so kind and loving to me; he took pity on me and adopted me. I told him only my first name, not my heritage. I wanted a new life and move as far away from my old one as possible."

"I don't blame you," Manic said. "But look on the bright side: you're freaking Russian Special Forces!" He gave Ashura a slap on the back and a grin.

"It's not the job Mother would have liked me to have, but it sure made Ivan proud. God bless the old bastard."

"Guys?" Tails' voice groggily called from upstairs. "What's going on down there?"

"Tails, you've got another big brother, lil buddy," Sonia called. "Come down here!"

Tails trudged down the stairs, wearing a sleeping cap and an eye cover. "Another big brother? What do you mean, Sonia?"

"Who's this little guy?" Ashura asked.

"I'm Miles Prower," Tails said. "But you can call me Tails. And you are?"

"Ashura Nicholas Hedgehog, at your service," Ashura said, with a bow.

"Tails is my best friend and little brother, alongside Thomas," Sonic said. "Tails, this is Ashura, our long-lost elder brother."

Tails was astonished. "Another one? Just how many older brothers do I have?! First Sonic, then Thomas, then Manic and now this guy!" He sighed. "Why do I have to be the youngest here?"

"Tails, just because you're the youngest here doesn't mean you're insignificant," I said. "You're still a Freedom Fighter and a good friend."

"Anyway," Ashura said, "as Ivan brought me up, I embraced my new life wholeheartedly; I chose not to think about my heritage, though I won't deny that sometimes, I did think about you three from time to time. Eventually, I forgot my heritage altogether. Ivan gave me special training when I was about eight because that was when Robotnik began his attacks on Eurish. When I was seventeen, I enlisted in the Russian Navy. I displayed high aptitude and sharp reflexes, which made me eligible for Spetznaz when I was eighteen, like Ivan before me. I accepted the opportunity and after going through the hellish training, I passed and was appointed Captain of my team.

"However, shortly after my initiation, I had a little drunken episode of my own. My friends, Ivan and I were celebrating my success with some Vodka and unfortunately, we had a bit too much to drink. In the drunken confusion, one of my friends, a guy named Alexander, expressed his jealously that I had passed whereas he had not, even though he was older than me. There was an argument, which became a fight, and though no one was killed, we were all in hospital for quite a bit."

"Sounds like you had fun," Manic chuckled. "Did you guys get in trouble for it?"

"Not really. We were all permanently banned from that particular bar, but we got of free, more or less. Beer's about the only alcoholic beverage I can drink without getting angry, and I avoid vodka because it makes me really angry.

"Anyway, as I lay recovering in the hospital, I remembered my father's drunken outburst for the first time in years and I realized I couldn't judge him anymore, because I'd now had a similar experience. I realized how he felt and my resentment for him finally faded and you cannot imagine how much I regret leaving him now or resenting him."

Sonia hugged Ashura again, this time even tighter, and beckoned for Tails to join. "But... we're not related," he said in a small voice. "I don't think I should... you know..."

I was thinking similar thoughts. Now that they were all back together, they seemed a whole family again; Tails and I were just tag-alongs now. Ashura moved his siblings out of the way and squatted to Tails' eye level. "A little brother of Sonic is a little brother of mine." He smiled with genuine warmth in his features.

Jerry elbowed me in the ribs. "Family is more than blood, Thom'ika. Go join your brothers; you're lucky to even have them." A sad smile appeared on his face. "Looks like Manda'buir has given you an even better family than what you started with."

"But my real siblings are still alive," I said quietly. "I can't forget about them."

Sonic smiled. "Hey! Even when we find your brother and sister, you'll always be our little brother, Tommy and we'll always love you! Quit standing there and come here!"

I smiled warmly. "Oh, why am I just standing here?" I ran over and threw my arms around both Sonic and Ashura. Manic and Sonia joined in and after a moment's pause; Tails snuggled into the hug as well.

"I'm so happy to be with you three again," Ashura said, tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry we've been apart for so long."

"It's alright, big bro," Manic said. "As Sonic said, you're here; we're all together again. And once we save our parents and find Queen Aleena, we'll be a proper family again."

Jerry was actually crying this time, though softly. Katja gave him a hug. "Oh, I'm just so happy for them right now."

* * *

So, a little while after that touching moment of family hugging, Katja and I were heading down to the hospital to visit Cream and see how she was doing. When I'd rescued her, I could tell she was certainly in a terrible state, as to be expected when you've been a prisoner of the Nazis. When I'd been a prisoner of the Nazis, I'd been left with several cuts, bruises, lacerations, infected wounds and, of course, my declawed hands. I doubted Cream would be much better.

When we arrived in the infirmary, we went to the receptionist.

"Excuse me," I said. "We're here to see Cream the Rabbit and her friend Cheese; what is her condition?"

The receptionist flipped through her clipboard, and both her eyebrows rose. "Cream is one lucky little bunny, Thomas. She only has a couple bruises, a scrape on her left knee, and a few easily treatable infections on her neck and upper back. Apart from that and mild malnutrition, she seems perfectly fine. She'll be out in a day or so, tops."

I was surprised at this; I'd required a few days to recover from my imprisonment, but then, it seemed Cream hadn't been tortured as much as I had; physically, anyway.

"May we see her then, por favor?" Katja asked.

"Of course," the receptionist replied. "You know which she's in, don't I you, Thomas?"

"Yes," I said. "This way, Kat."

We didn't need to walk far. The fourth room we came across was the exact same room Sonic had been admitted to when Noir hurt his leg. Cream sat alone for the time being, attended only by a medical droid, and she was fast asleep.

The droid turned to us as we entered. "Ah, Mr Holmes; Miss Sashami-Fursona, you are here to see Miss Rabbit, I presume?"

"Yes, we are," I said. "Where's Cheese?"

"He's had to undergo an injection, I'm afraid," the droid said. "His immune system is weaker than that of his rabbit friend; the injection should purge the MRSA from his blood. He'll be fine, I promise you."

"That's good," I said. "Is it safe to wake Cream, or should we come back later and leave her to sleep?"

"Medically, there's no risk to waking her up. But, in my professional opinion, she should be left to sleep. You are welcome to watch her, and you can talk to her once she wakes up.

"Okay," I said. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," the droid said and left the room. Katja and I pulled up chairs to Cream's bedside and sat down. Katja stroked her cheek very gently.

"She's just so adorable," she whispered.

"I know," I said. "I loved her from the moment she was born; she's like a little sister to me."

"Say, Tommy," Katja said. "Sally told me last night that you knew her mother, is that right?"

"Indeed I did," I replied. "I'm wondering whether or not to let her live with us until we can find someone to take care of her. The house is starting to get crowded with you, me, Jerry, and the Hedgehogs piled inside. One of us is going to end up sleeping on the couch."

Katja looked thoughtful. "Well, Jerry can literally sleep anywhere without complaint, so he's our main sofa-candidate. Maybe Cream can sleep in _his_ bed."

I thought about it, stroking my whispers as I did so. "Hmm, we could do that," I said after a moment. "But I think that maybe we should just go with finding someone to take care of her; just to be on the safe side. Maybe Bunnie could take her in; she's always wanted a housemate and they are both rabbits."

"Forgive me if I sound like Jerry, but species shouldn't be a qualifier for adoption, Thomas. That said, Bunnie does seem to be a bueno option." Katja watched Cream for a long moment. "Do you think she will want to be a Jedi?"

I paused. "I don't know. If that doesn't work out, I suppose Jerry could give her Mando lessons."

Katja giggled. "Maybe." Her smile faded away. "I just hope what happened to her won't damage her too much."

"I hope so too, Kat," I said. "But when I was a prisoner of the Nazis, I was eleven; Cream is only a five-year-old girl. And she was forced to watch her sweet mother get roboticized right in front of her eyes. It would seem she's powerful in the Force, because her despair caused the entire Roboticization facility to get severely damaged. I don't know how long she spent here either." I stroked her cheek. "But no matter what, I'll be here for her; I'm her big brother now and I will take care of her until we save Vanilla."

At that moment, Cream stirred and opened her eyes.

She yawned, a cute little _erah_ sound that made me grin. "Hi, Thomas," she said quietly. "Were you watching me sleep?" I nodded. "Momma used to do that, too," she mumbled, settling into the bed once again and closing her eyes.

Katja stroked Cream's ears. "We'll get your Madre back to normal, Cream," she said. "I promise."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Katja; Katja Sashami-Fursona," Katja replied. "But you can call me Kat. I apologize if I often say words you don't understand, but Spanish is my first language, so it often slips out. Anyway, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Cream smiled warmly. "Thank you, Miss Katja. Where's Cheese?"

"He's gone for an injection."

Cream shuddered. "I don't like injections; needles scare me."

"It's alright, Cream," I said. "You won't need one."

Just then, the medical droid returned with Cheese. "Your friend has now received his immunization, Miss Cream," he said. "He'll be alright now."

"Thank you, Mr Robot. Cheese is a good friend..." Cream yawned again, shut her eyes, and quickly dozed off.

Katja smiled gently. "Keep resting, Cream. You need it."

Cheese fluttered over to his bunny friend and settled down on her chest. Cream put her arm around her Chao friend with a small sigh.

Then, I gasped as I remembered something important.

"What is it?" Katja asked worriedly.

"It's July 31st today; my 12th birthday!" I said. "And Cream's 6th birthday well. I completely forgot and I didn't get her anything!"

"It's alright, Tommy," Katja said. "You didn't know you'd be seeing Cream again; I'm sure she'll understand."

"But maybe getting something for her birthday might cheer her up," I said. "Maybe I should go and tell the others."

"There'll be no need of that, Tommy," said a voice. We turned; Sonic stood in the doorway, with a blower and wearing a party hat.

"What...?" Next moment, more of my friends joined Sonic at the door.

"Happy Birth...!"

"Shhh! Cream's asleep! Keep it quiet, please."

"Sorry," Sonic said quietly. "Okay, guys, quiet this time."

"Happy Birthday, Tommy," everyone said, quietly this time.

Sonic zipped over and gave me a noogie. "Twelve years old, eh? Who'd have thought it?" He mimed wiping a tear. "They grow up so fast..." Katja laughed, and I pulled myself from the headlock. Cream stirred, but she didn't wake up.

"A lot can happen in a year, can it?" I said.

"You're telling me!" Sonic said. "Over the course of this year, I met an echidna named Knuckles on Angel Island, met you in Chicago, found my family again and became a Jedi... in training," he added, after Sally raised an eyebrow.

"We made this cake initially just for you," Tails said, holding out a cake similar to the one Sonic, Manic and Sonia had had for their birthday. "But when we learnt Cream shared your birthday, we made a few changes to it."

I looked the confection over: most of the icing was dark blue, with white running along the edges. Twelve white and seven green candles dotted the surface, and below the icing message "Happy Birthday, Thomas!" were the hastily written words "and Cream." I smiled and looked back to Cream: she was still fast asleep. "Thanks, guys. I'm not sure if the staff would take kindly to icing on the floor and _yes_ Manic, I am talking about your eating habits and _no,_ you don't have first dibs like last time; Cream does."

"You can still exchange gifts or whatever you organics do," the medical droid added. "Just keep your decibels low."

Jerry gently pushed through the group, objects that looked like a pair of metal-plated gloves in his hand. "I couldn't find the time to wrap them up, but here they are." He held the items out to me: they looked a lot like his own Mando gauntlets, but the metal parts were white with a red stripe running down each forearm piece. "Put 'em on; I built something special into them."

I gave him an odd look, slipping off my own blue and white gloves. "Um... thanks?" I pulled on the gauntlets, flexing my fingers to stretch out the leather fabric. I noted the strange design on the palms and the slits on the knuckle plates. "What do I do now?"

Jerry was grinning wide enough to show off all his teeth. "Ball your fist, and squeeze." I did as he instructed with my right hand, and a short blade of blue energy shot from the slit in the knuckle plate with a familiar _vzzzmmm._ "For when you may accidentally lose your lightsaber."

"Wow!" I said. "Thanks very much, Jerry. This could come in handy as a secondary weapon in battle. But I thought you were no fan of lightsabers."

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean I don't wish to help my little feline friend, Tommy."

"Okay. Thanks again."

Sonic came up next; he was holding up a pair of new trainers, which were styled very similarly to his own high tops. "I had these made for you, Tommy; those old ones you're wearing right now are just falling apart."

I looked down at the trainers already in my feet: they were originally white and blue, but they were now a grimy brown-grey with faded blue marks, and the soles seemed to be held to the rest of the shoe by hopes instead of atomic bonds. I slipped them off and put the new pair on. "Thanks, bro. I don't suppose Jerry installed knives into these when you weren't looking?" I shifted in my new shoes, stretching them out to make them more comfortable. Sonic laughed, but Jerry looked as if a proverbial light bulb appeared over his head.

"That sounds like a great idea, Tommy," he said. "If I had knives installed into those, you could have more weapons at your disposal and be more deadly with a kick."

"I was being sarcastic," I said. "But maybe it could work."

"Well, yeah," Sonic said. "My high-tops have quite a few mechanisms built into them; anti-grav, magnetic grip and grinding. It does help."

At that moment, Cream yawned and woke up again.

"What's going on?" she murmured. "Why are all these people here, all of a sudden?"

"It's our birthday today, Cream," I said. "My twelfth and your sixth, to be precise. Sorry if we woke you, though."

"It's okay, Tommy."

"Ah," Sally said. "I'm glad you're awake now, Cream, because Bunnie and I have something for you."

"Y'all can't continue wearing those filthy rags," Bunnie said, "so here are some new clothes."

She and Sally were holding out a vermillion dress with a white collar, a blue dual-flap tie, white gloves and vermillion and yellow shoes with white socks.

Cream was instantly wide awake, all traces of fatigue gone from her eyes. "For me?" Delight overtook her features. "Thank you. Thank you very much!" She looked at the medical droid. "Can I? Please?"

"Not at the moment, Miss Cream. Once you're all better, you can wear any clothing you wish." Cream looked slightly disappointed, but she seemed to cheer up in moments. I scratched the back of her head, and she giggled.

Amy came forward next. "Cream," she said gently, "when I first saw you in that prison cell, I knew that we were going to be great friends. I'm really sorry about your mother and I will help you feel as welcome here in Knothole as possible. I also want you to feel comforted, so here..." She handed Cream a small box. "Open it."

Cream opened the box, revealing a small music player that was playing a soft, gentle and soothing tone that made my fur poof. Cream giggled again. "Thanks, Miss Amy."

"Alright, Thomas, Cream," Tails said, holding out the cake for both of us. "Make a wish and blow."

Cream looked thoughtful for a moment, and we blew out the candles together. Everyone then started clapping, at least until the droid shooed everyone out of the room so that he could treat more of Cream's injuries. As I went to leave, wanting to give her some quiet time, Cream called me back. "Thomas?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"I wished for a daddy." Her wide, light brown eyes glassed. "Mom was always there, but she couldn't do everything on her own."

I nodded. "I know how that feels, Cream. My Uncle Norman was the same; only thing was, there were three of us. That is why he got your mother in to look after us. She was like the mother I'd never known. However, I did get to spend time with my parents when I was a baby, even if I can't remember it very well. Your daddy, alas, died shortly after you were conceived."

"I know; Momma told me."

I stroked Cream's cheek gently. "We're all family here in Knothole, Cream; all family in the name of Jesus."

"Jesus? Oh, yeah; Momma told me about Him. I went to Church and learnt about Him. He sounds like a wonderful Man."

"He _is_ a wonderful Man, Cream; He died for your sins, and mine, because He is the Son of God and loves us more than you can possibly imagine."

"But why didn't He help me now?" Cream asked. "Why didn't He save Momma?"

I sighed. "That's a question we all wonder, Cream; I've wondered it myself since my family was lost. But I've been taught that we can never truly understand God's reasoning for allowing evil; we just have to trust His judgement. Besides, the Freedom Fighters are making plans for building a machine that will hopefully reverse the effects of the Roboticizer and restore everyone, including your mother, back to normal. Anyway, Vanilla wanted you safe from harm, as only a loving mother would. Be thankful that you are safe now

Cream smiled. "That does make a little better."

"And do you want to know the best present I've got for my birthday?"

"What?"

"Being with you again, Cream." And I kissed her forehead.

Cream giggled. "Thank you, Thomas."

"Anything for my sweet little sister; and please, call me Tommy."

Cream sat up and hugged me tightly. "Happy Birthday, Tommy Cat."

I returned the hug, stroking her head. "And Happy Birthday to you too, Creamy Bun."

* * *

**A/N: Aww, isn't that sweet, folks? This is probably my longest written chapter to date. All the Executor scenes are a prelude to the next story; trust me, it will be awesome.**


	8. Epilogue

Epilogue

_Robotnik's palace, Robotropolis, 1000 hours_

Robotnik's grin never faltered as he strode into the medical facility beneath the main landing pad. Such a wonderful development needed telling to all his staff, but he wanted Noir to be the first on Mobius to know. He looked into the room Noir was staying in, and saw that she was still sleeping. He knocked on the glass: Noir jolted awake.

She looked around wildly before spotting her master. She bowed her head. "Master," she said.

"We've received a stupendous development, my apprentice," Robotnik said. "Lord Vader has now provided us with the military force required to root out and destroy those pathetic Freedom Fighters and Jedi once and for all!" His red eyes were glowing maniacally; Noir felt scared of him, but she always had been.

"I suppose that's good news," Noir said. "How _much_ assistance?"

Robotnik's grin widened. "Enough troops, ordnance, and armour to level half the Great Forest!"

Noir's eyes widened. She was no environmentalist, but the idea of the Great Forest burning down did not bring her any satisfaction. However, she said nothing about it to her master.

"When will they be mounting the attack, master?"

"Vader is actually landing his forces outside the Great Forest as we speak, along with the bulk of the city's SS patrols. We attack at 0200 tomorrow."

Noir knew she should be feeling happy, but all she felt was a slight concern for Thomas Holmes. She hadn't forgotten their mental conversation and how concerned he'd been for her, despite her sadism and Sith allegiance.

Robotnik did not seem to notice Noir's apparent lack of enthusiasm. He probably chalked it up to the painkillers in her system. "The medical staff said you shouldn't strain yourself for the next couple weeks," he continued. "So, I shall send you live feed of the assault once it begins." He gestured to the television on the wall by Noir's bed. "The remote's next to your pillow. You may turn it on when you wish." Robotnik paused, and turned to leave. "I hope you make a speedy recovery, my apprentice. But in the meantime, I will make sure that Mandalorian handbag will _pay_ when I find him."

Noir's anger briefly flared at the thought of that Mandalorian gator who had nearly strangled her and taken her lightsaber. She had no concern for him. "Oh yes, master," she said. "He must pay badly."

* * *

_Executor_

The lieutenant in charge of the Executor's detention centre had finally calmed from his anxiety over Emperor Palpatine being a Sith Lord, when another, Darth Vader entered the room swiftly. He sprung to his feet and saluted immediately. "Lord Vader, sir."

"I've just been received Intel that prisoner five-four-zero-eight has been moved out of her cell," Vader said.

"Yes, sir. The Emperor wanted her to be transferred to Imperial City."

Vader lunged forward, gripped the hapless officer by his throat, and bodily lifted him into the air. "Why was I not informed of this?" he said calmly.

"I... don't... know, Lord Vader," the lieutenant choked. "TK-three-two-two… came to me with… the message. He left… with her about two or three hours ago… and he told me you had… been informed of the… tr-transfer."

"I was not informed of any transfer," Vader said, tightening his grip on the officer's throat. "That stormtrooper told you wrong!" Then he realized something. "If he gave you incorrect information, then that must mean... he's an enemy of the Empire and is trying to smuggle Ahsoka out of here!"

Vader dropped the officer and unclipped the lightsaber from his belt "Check the security cameras. Find out where she went." He turned and actually ran down the hall, sweeping the ship with the Force for his old apprentice.

He sensed her presence nearby, but it was moving away. She was in a cargo shuttle that had taken off from Hangar 94 some time ago; but the ship was still in the same system. And she wasn't alone; two troopers were with her; TK-three-two-two was with her and so was Commander Rex. So he was in on this too...

Vader stopped by a wall panel and pressed an intercom button. "Attention, TIE fighter pilots! Prisoner five-four-oh-eight has escaped on a cargo shuttle with two trooper spies. Pursue their ship and make sure it doesn't leave this system, but do not destroy it! Repeat: do _not_ destroy it!"

* * *

Ordo took off his helmet. "Rex, you drive: I'm going to slip into my _beskar'gam_ and find Tano a spacesuit in case we have to abandon ship. You may want to seal your suit as well, brother." Both Ordo and Rex knew their armour was only vacuum-proof for thirty minutes, and such measures delayed the inevitable, unpleasant death of suffocation.

The cargo shuttle shuddered from an impact. "Well, looks like Vader misses our company; he's sending us some invitations," Rex said as he looked at the holomap by the steering yoke.

"Tell him we must decline his _di'kutla_ request, due to a family reunion and a physician's appointment," Ordo called from the refresher.

Ahsoka buckled herself in the co-pilot's seat next to Rex. "Thanks, Rex," she said. Before Rex could answer, another impact slapped the shuttle. Rex took the shuttle into a steep dive toward the planet below and pulled hard to the right.

Ordo stepped out of the refresher, in full deep-red Mandalorian battle armour. He had a thick orange spacesuit folded over his arm like a waiter's napkin. He held it out to Ahsoka. "Put this on, in case we get spaced."

"You're Mandalorian?" Ahsoka asked, taking the spacesuit from him.

"Yes, I am," Ordo said, "but I will explain later when we're not being fired by TIE fighters."

"If there is a later," Ahsoka said, as she pulled on the spacesuit.

"Should we run for it and hope they're bluffing, or should we go planet side, hide, and leave later?" Rex pulled on the steering yoke, avoiding a stream of TIE fire. "Take your time, we're in no rush."

Ordo thought for a moment. "I have an idea. Swing around, drop a seismic charge, and run for the surface before they scramble more fighters." Ahsoka gave Ordo a look. "When I nicked this crate, I made a few _modifications_."

Rex pulled the steering yoke around and flew the ship directly at the TIE fighters. He then pressed a few buttons on the dashboard. "Releasing seismic charge now."

He then took the shuttle into a fifty-degree turn, nosed toward the planet, and hit the throttle. "Hang on to your buckets: this is going to be quite a landing!" The shuttle suddenly shook violently, and Ahsoka sensed that whatever presence the hapless TIE pilots had left in the Force was snuffed out. "I take back every snide comment about your mental facilities during the war, Ordo."

Ordo shrugged. "Don't mention it. I actually liked the nickname 'Captain Psycho,' if it makes you feel any better."

**And this is where we end this story on a cliff-hanger. Ordo, Rex and Ahsoka are heading down towards Mobius with Vader on their trail and the Imperial forces are preparing to mount their assault on Knothole. What will happen to our heroes? Find out next time.**

**With all due respect**

**Thomas Holmes II**


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